


Warlock of the Hearts

by katie_Novak



Series: Playing Cards [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Romance, Science Fiction, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:13:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26110945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_Novak/pseuds/katie_Novak
Summary: This is a story about my OC and Cayde. Nax is an awoken warlock that has little to no friends because of the rumors of her going feral in the field. While killing time at the tower until her next mission she gets to know a certain vanguard.
Relationships: Cayde-6/Female Guardian (Destiny)
Series: Playing Cards [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897174
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyes up, Guardian!
> 
> You will see some of the chapters being repost as I an double back and look at my grammar, as I am trying to become better on fixing it. If you already read chapter 1-5 please wait for Chapter 6.
> 
> Thank you all!

**Chapter One**

The sun shines brightly in the blue sky over the tower plaza, promising yet another beautiful day. A gentle warm breeze dances around the guardians that are congregating in the plaza. Some sit on the soft grass lazily while others gather around stands set up in the surrounding area. 

Standing around Banshee-44’s stand is a trio of hunters. They are talking about weapons. One is trying to check if there is an upgrade for his handgun while another wants to get his sniper rifle repaired. 

The stand’s owner holds up a hand, “One at a time.” 

Meanwhile, two rookie warlocks stand in front of a stand owned by  Rahool . Their reason: to have their engrams decoded. Titans check their vaults in the middle of the plaza, either depositing or retrieving items, while others are checking their mail with the postmaster. As all of this is happening, pilots teleport to and from their ships within the plaza square. Those arriving, once their feet touch land, the spacecraft would switch to autopilot, directing itself to the docking bay until the guardian is ready. 

One guardian phasing in is an Awoken. Ashen skin with a hue of blue contrast nicely with ocean blue hair with electrifying blue eyes. The armor she wears is a rare warlock set,  Dujia Shou chest plate. Gauntlets and  Temporis Flo 4 leg armor, both black, are strapped upon her body. 

Two fellow Warlocks turn from talking with  Rahool to watch the Awoken female walk past them. The Exo Warlock leans over to her human partner. She whispers, “Is that her? 

Seeing who the female is talking about, the male nods his head slowly, trying not to attract himself. “Yeah, that is her, the crazed warlock. The older Warlocks have warned us about her.” He watches her from the corners of his eyes, “I went on a mission with her once. And you know what? The rumors are true. 

The plates around the Exo’s eyes go up in surprise. She asks, “What happened?” 

“We were fighting the Fallen, and she went crazy fighting them. She got all up close and personal with them. She looked like a feral woman with all that blood on her.” 

Turning, the Exo eyes the Awoken female casually talking to her ghost and comments, “She doesn’t look like a feral woman. Are you sure?” 

The male huffs, “That’s because you’ve never been on a team with her. You’re lucky Ikora chooses to send her out on solo missions.” 

Stopping mid-step, the awoken spins on her heels and turn towards the two. 

“Oh shit!” Swears the human under his breath. He quickly grabs his partner’s hand, “She heard us. Let’s go,” and drags her away from the stand. 

Instead of focusing her attention on the two retreating guardians, the woman glances at the stand they were just at. Grinning, she jobs over, waving at the stand’s owner. “ Rahool ! Morning!” 

Hearing his name, the man looks up. He finds a female coming his way all too chipper. “Guardian  Nax , what can I do for you?” 

Stopping in front of him,  Nax places a finger on her chin in thought. “From you? Let me see, Hmmm,” She thinks about what she wants for a while more before her lips curve up in a lazy smile, “How about a smile?” 

Rahool is not amused. He studies her smile before looks down at his tablet. There is too much work to do. “Do you have any engrams for me to decode?” 

Sighing in disappointment,  Nax nods her head. She begins pulling out a few engrams and hands them. “Yeah, I have a few.” 

Nodding his head,  Rahool takes the engrams. Immediately he begins to decode them. No words are exchange as the silence fills the void. The silence starts to make  Nax uncomfortable, so she decides to strike up small talk. 

“So, how’s your day? Mine has been super busy!” The chipper tone returns to her voice.

The man nods his head. The movement causes his hood to shift just slightly. “I can tell by your finds.” Turning his tablet around, he hands it to her to reveal the items of hers that he decoded. 

She says enthusiastically, “Hopefully, I found some good ones!” Taking the tablet, she scrolls through what she found. “Oh well. I’ll have better luck next time,” sighs the woman. 

The decoded items reveal standard boots and a gun. The gun, though, it is not any better than her current gun, that outranks it. Typing in her vault and access code, she transfers the items. Later, she can dismantle them. Handing the tablet away, she turns and starts walking away. 

Stopping, she looks over her shoulder, a smile playing upon her lips, “One day I will get that smile!” 

Rahool retorts, “On that day the day the Traveler awakens, guardian.” 

“When the Traveler awakes, I’m holding you to it!” She calls out. On that note, she turns back to her next course: The Hall of Guardians. Passing through, she makes sure to wave toward Banshee. 

Taking the stairs down, they lead her into a large room at the end of the hall. A voice calls out to her as she walks, “Guardian.” 

Stopping, the warlock turns to greet the other woman warmly, “Eris! How are you today?” 

“I am well. Did you find what I was asking for?” 

“Oh, right! The stone you wanted.” Immediately, she starts patting and checking her pockets. As she searches herself for it,  Nax explains, “It was a bit hard to find. For a while, I didn’t think I was going to find it.” 

Not finding the stone, she frowns. Looking up, she asks her bobbing ghost, “ Beeze ? Do you know where I put it?” 

“Did you forget already? After you killed the captain, you gave it to me.” States the ghost. 

Snapping her fingers, as a light bulb goes off, a grin on her face reflects it. “That’s right! When I killed the captain, he had it; wearing it like a necklace.” Holding out her palm, she asks, “ Beeze , the stone please?” 

“Of course.” Eager to please his guardian, the ghost materializes a small green-blue stone in his guardian’s open palm. 

Nax holds out the stone to the other woman, “Here you go, Eris.” 

A small smile forms upon the vendor’s face. She thanks the guardian. “Thank you, guardian. This artifact will be a great help to further my studies.” 

Nax shrugs her shoulders, “I’m glad I could help. If you need me to make another run, send a message to  Beeze .” 

“Nax, we better go. Ikora is waiting for us to report in,” Interrupts  Beeze . 

“Okay,  Beeze . I’m on my way.” She asks, “I’ll see you later, Eris?” 

Eris Morn nods her head, turning around to her table.  Nax takes this as her cue to leave, “Alright, see  ya later!” 

She turns around and begins to head to the vanguards. A pair of cold hands on her arm causes the Awoken to stop. Turning, she gives Eris a confused look, “Is there something you need, Eris? Did Cayde-6 mess with your stuff?” 

Eris shakes her head, “No. Be careful, warlock. I hear rumors swarming around the tower, stories about you. She stares into  Nax’s blue eyes with her three glowing green ones. 

Nax is not unnerved with Eris’s three eyes. Truthfully, nothing about the other woman frightens her. Sighing, she is annoyed by the rumors. “Yeah,” She places a gloved hand on the other’s, “I hear them too. I will be careful. I need to check in with Ikora. I’ll see you later, okay?” 

Nodding her head, Eris lets go of the warlock’s arm. “I will call upon you when I have another task.” 

“I’m counting on it!” 

She waves goodbye to her fellow friend before turning around. Entering the hall,  Nax greets her elder, “Good morning, Ikora.” 

####

Cayde looks up from his map upon hearing someone greeting Ikora cheerfully. The person is a warlock that he had seen a few times before, not as often as the others. However, it is hard to forget her. 

Returning his attention to the map, he pauses when he notices something off. Even though Ikora has greeted her warlock warmly, Cadye takes notice of her stance: stiff. Seeing the change this causes him to wonder what has her on alert with this warlock. Keeping his eyes on his map, Cayde leaves an ear out for their conversation. 

“ Guardian, how was the mission,” asks Ikora as  Nax approaches her. 

“Oh, it went great,” says  Nax , a smile pasted on her face. “I was able to disband that Fallen group that was setting up camp a bit too close to one of the wild settlements.” 

Smiling at her, Ikora congratulates her, “Excellent work. Go ahead and take a few days of rest.” 

“Oh…um… sure, okay.” The ocean haired Awoken shifts her weight from one foot to the other. 

Noticing the other’s movement, the Warlock Vanguard asks, “Is there something wrong?” 

“Well, um…is there another mission I can do?” asks  Nax shyly. 

“Another one?” The older warlock asks surprise, her raising. “You just came back from a mission.” 

“I know, but...” She pauses, trying to figure out what to say and convince Ikora to let her have another mission. 

Cayde takes notice; he is not the only one listening. Another has also looked up, taking note. Zavala has taken an interest. 

“Going from mission to mission is not ideal. Doing so will burn out any guardian, even experienced ones. Take Ikora’s advice. Take a few days off. There will be plenty of missions when you return,” states the commander. 

Knowing there is no way to convince Ikora and Commander Zavala,  Nax’s shoulders slump in defeat. She gives a simple nod of acknowledgment. Remembering something, she focuses her eyes on Ikora. “Do you, by any chance, know if Evie is back from her mission?” 

“Evie?” Ikora turns toward the Hunter, “Isn’t she one of your hunters, Cayde?” She knows the Exo was listening. Nothing gets past them. 

“Huh?” He looks up, trying to pretend that he is not paying attention. However, the look in Ikora’s eyes tells him she is not buying it. She knows he was listening just like Zavala. 

Coughing, he clears his throat. Picking up a pile of papers strewn about his area on the table, he shuffles through them. “Yeah, Evie is one of my best. I sent her to Venus, I think.” Finding the report on the mission, he glances through it, “Nope! She’s on Mars.” Looking up, he eyes the younger warlock, “I’m afraid she won’t be back for another few days.” 

Ikora offers, “Consider this a chance to get to know your fellow Warlocks.” 

“Yeah, a great chance.”  Nax shares a look with her ghost. 

The Exo sees the look. He knows it, having given them to his ghost when Zavala lectures him on skimping his duties. Curious, he asks, “Is there something wrong with that?” 

Nax quickly shakes her head at him, “No. Nothing wrong with that.” Turning back to Ikora, “Thank you, Ikora. I will take a few days of rest. Commander. Cayde-6. Have a wonderful day.” She quickly retreats from the room, giving another wave goodbye to Eris before climbing the stairs. 

Once the warlock is gone, Cayde looks up at Ikora, “Wow. That was rude. 

The other warlock explains, “ Nax is not what you call a people person.” 

“So, what’s this about her getting to know her fellow Warlocks?” 

“Nothing to worry about; she has a tough time making friends, especially with other Warlocks.” 

Cayde chuckles as he teases, “Do I see a lone wolf among your ranks, huh?” 

“Yes. This wolf needs to understand the benefits of being in a pack,” states Ikora with a strained expression. She picks up a book, a sign to Cayde that their discussion is over. 

Shrugging, he returns to his map. He thinks, _Not my guardian, not my problem._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: 
> 
> Eyes up, Guardian!
> 
> You will see some of the chapters being repost as I an double back and look at my grammar, as I am trying to become better on fixing it. If you already read chapters 1-5 please wait for Chapter 6.
> 
> Thank you all!

**Chapter 2**

Over the next few days, the hall becomes busy with activity. Guardians come in and out, reporting on their mission before leaving after picking up another.   


The Warlock Vanguard, Ikora, stands off to the side, conversing with three guardians, gathering what information she can from them. Once finished, they turn around and leave. Sighing, she shakes her head and turns around to the table again.    


"So many missions, yet not enough guardians to take them." One can hear the exhaustion leaking through her voice. In the end, she sighs once again.   


_That is_ _number five_ , thinks Cayde to himself. He has been counting how many times the warlock has sighed in the last hour. You cannot blame him for counting; no one else would.   


Either way, the Exo is not surprised; it has been pack with guardians coming in dropping mission reports. He offers with a smile, "If you need someone to run a few missions for you, I know someone."   


Having picked up a tablet in the past few seconds, Ikora looks up from it. With a shake of her head, she says, "Thank you, but no. If I want the mission to end in a huge explosion, I know who to ask for. These missions require a bit more," she pauses for a moment, trying to find the right word, "Finesse."   


"You know, that wounds me!" The hunter says in a hurt tone, feigning a pained expression. This action earns him an unimpressed look from the female warlock.   


Since he was not going to get a chuckle, he coughs and clears his throat. Shrugging off his expression, he suggests, "If you're overwhelmed with missions, then why not take a few guardians off their rest periods? What about that one warlock from a few days ago? She wanted another mission. Now, what was her name."   


Cayde hums a little tune while tapping his chin, giving off the appearance that he is thinking hard on what that warlock's name. Truthfully, he knows her name. He is just humming to annoy Zavala; it gets on his nerves. The Titan dislikes humming, says it is an unnecessary distraction. And since Cayde is stuck in the tower all day, the Exo must find a way to entertain himself.   


Out of the corner of his optics, the Exo can see Zavala giving him a look. He stops and continues with the conversation as if he  were not just humming to get on the man’s nerve. “Is it Nick? Nack? Noe?”

“It’s Nax,” says the warlock. By doing so, she ends Zavala’s torment, slightly shaking her head with a small smile. “She is still on rest period and won’t be back for a few more days.”

Cayde shrugs his shoulders unimpressed, "So? If there is a mission that needs to get done yet no one around to take it, I pull someone off their rest period because someone, I  do not want to say who,” he glances at the Titan, “insists on having me stay in the tower full-time.”

Scrolling through her tablet for available warlocks, Ikora sighs for the sixth time. Looking up at the fireteam member with a stern expression upon her dark complexion, she states, “If I take Nax off her rest period, she will expect shorter rest periods all the time. She has a terrible habit of jumping from one mission to another. That sort of pattern is something I am not going to allow any more. Learning to take a break will not kill her; a lesson she needs to learn now."   


Seeing the warlock's determination, the Exo tosses his hands up in surrender, knowing there is no way to win or convince her otherwise. "Alright, you wing. But, if you need someone to run a few runs, I have a handful of hunters lying around lazily. I'm  fairly sure they’re itching to get back out on the field.”

Ikora gives a smile at the offer, “Thank you. If I need anyone, I’ll let you know.”

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Cayde lets out a dramatic, loud yawn, stretching to ease his joins. He informs his fellow Vanguards as he walks out of the hall, "Well, that's my good deed for the day. If you need me,  do not find me, okay?” 

Entering the courtyard, Cayde notices how empty it is; the sun hangs low over the horizon. Strays of gold and red paint the sky. The Exo stands there, watching vendors packing up. Seeing Banshee, the Exo strolls over, deciding now would be a good time to chat with the man. Most days, all the merchants are gone for the day once Cayde leaves work, so why not take the time to talk with one today.   


“Hey, Banshee. How are sales today? Sell a lot of goods?"   


The fellow Exo merchant looks up from a box he is packing away. "Cayde." The man straightens his posture, looking the hunter in the optics, "Sales were fine today. Your hunters, though." He let the last comment trail off.   


“Yeah, they’re a rowdy bunch,” chuckles  Cayde . He offers, “If they ever get out of hand, here’s a trick: toss an engram as far from you as possible. They’ll chase after it, giving you time to flee.”

Remembering something, the Vanguard asks, “Before I forget, can you look at something for a fellow Exo?”

“What is it?” asks Banshee. He is busy as it  is, but looking would not hurt.

Reaching into his inventory, Cayde lays a gun on the table. The gun is old and rusted. It is easy to recognize as a pistol from before their Golden Age. "One of my Hunters found this on their mission. I was wondering if it is repairable to use, or should I put it on display?   


The merchant picks up the gun, flipping it over as he studies it. Giving out a whistle, he says, “This is before the Golden Age.” He tries to force the barrel out, “It’ll take a long time to get this working correctly.”

“Well, as you know, I have plenty of time,”  says the Exo Vanguard.

Nodding his head, the gunsmith hands the pistol back. “Give it a try. If you need any supplies, I will cut you a deal.”

Gingerly accepting the gun, Cayde tucks it away in one of his many pockets. "Thanks! See you around."   


Banshee nods his head, “Yes, see you around.” The man turns around to finish packing up his merchandise for the day. After all, tomorrow starts anew.

###

Metal hitting metal echoes with the smell of oil and grease as the exo enters the large hanger. For one Exo, when it hits his sensors, it is soothing, comfort. There is a memory he cannot recall, but it is there, the smells and sounds part of that memory.   


“I should talk to Amanda about adding some upgrades to my ship. Maybe some cannons,” says Cayde to himself as he walks toward a workspace.

All around, ships glide in, landing on one of the many moveable ports. It is a must need as there  is not enough space for vessels to dock outside. Either way, this very hanger is his sanctuary, an escape from the mundane.

Taking the stairs at a casual pace, he stops the hallway. Someone is  intruding in his sacred space, something that  does not happen.

The person can be mistaken as a civilian with the worn-out sneakers, jeans, and a hunter green hoodie. However, Cayde has seen her before;  Nax , the Warlock Ikora, refused to pull off her rest period. The fact there is a Warlock in this area of the tower is rare.  Typically, Hunters and Titans  spend time together here.

Deciding not to say anything, he watches as the Awoken woman hovers over the mechanic's workbench, inspecting the tools laying out. Her eyes take in the detail of each tools intimately, yet not once touching them. When she goes to pick up a wrench, a voice catches her off guard.   


“You know,” calls out  Cayde , “Amanda will kill you if she finds out you were messing with her babies.”

The warlock looks up to find the Hunter Vanguard leaning against the stair's railing, arms folded over his chest. Seeing him causes her to straighten up, tugging at the bottom of her hoodie nervously, "I wasn't going to touch them. I just saw what she has and what I don't."   


Taking a step back from the bench, she feels like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. However, that thought vanishes as another replaces it: Why was the Vanguard here? Did someone complain about her being down here?  Nax was not bothering anyone. With a puzzled look, the Awoken asks, “Why would you think I’m messing with her stuff? Did someone say I was?”

"What?" He is confused for a second, but Cayde figures that the girl thinks  he is here due to someone complaining about her appearance in the hanger. “No. No one reported you. I just wanted to warn you about touching Amanda’s tools. She gets pretty mean when someone messes with them.” He pushes off the railing and climbs the rest of the way up.

The blue-tinted skinned woman watches the more experienced guardian walk past her, heading toward the other stairs. Feeling braver, she places her hands on her hips, "How do you, pray, would know that?"   


Stopping, the Exo turns to find the warlock standing in a more confident stance. Smiling, he stat, "Let's just say I learned from experience." If he could wink, he would have added one.   


The rest of the tension leaves her shoulders, causing the body to relax. Grinning, she starts with a much warmer voice, "Let me guess; she threw something at you?"   


As he chuckles,  Cayde’s orange light goes on and off, “No, but she did hit me in the back of the head with something. Rubbing his head shifts his hood a bit. “She still refuses to tell me what it was.”

Another chuckle before a sudden thought crosses his memory, “Anyway, what are you doing down here?”

As soon as he asks,  Nax’s defenses go up. Her posture stiffens up, the tension returning to her shoulders. “Am I not supposed to be here?”

"No! I did not mean that way! I'm just asking because it's a bit odd to see a…." He trails off, not wanting to say it is due to her being a Warlock.  It is rude. Yet, he remembers saying something like this last time to Ikora.

Watching the  Exo shift uncomfortably,  Nax decides to end his suffering. “It’s because I’m a Warlock?”

Cayde's blue optics widen in surprise. He tries to see a hint of anger from her, but there is nothing. The warlock just stands there waiting for him to confirm or deny it. Shaking his head, he replies, "What? No," the word no being dragged out.    


The ocean blue-haired woman looks at him, and her lips turned down just enough to look of disbelief. Seeing this, Cayde sighs in defeat, the orange light flickering as he lowers his hands. "Okay, well I thought you know, Hunters have the  wilds , Titans their walls, and well,  Warlocks, “

“Warlocks have the libraries, I know,” interrupts  Nax . She nods her head,  a sign he should continue.

“Yeah. So, you know, birds of the same feathers fly together kind of thing.”

“Yeah, well,” she relaxes a little, the conversations not taking a turn for good. “I was pecked out of the library. Right now, I’m just killing time until they start clearing out.” Turning towards him, she realizes the  Exo is standing in the same position as before. “Okay, your turn. Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in the hall?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he replies, “I finished for the day early. Figured I’d come down here and work on one of my pride and joys.” There is a tone of pride in his voice as his thumb jerk towards his heading.   


Curious, the Awoken walks past  Cayde . She takes the stairs and stops at the top. There, she finds a poorly beaten sparrow resting on a stand. The entire thing is sad. 

The hunter joins her, "Well, what do you think?"   


"This is your pride and joy? I'd hate to see the things you like." She says to him with a look of stun on her face.  Nax is not sure if she should laugh or feel pity for the poor sparrow. “I mean, what in the traveler did you do to it?”

“What did I do to it? I  did not do anything to it! I won it at a card game,” defends Cayde.

“Why on earth would you want this?” asks Nax. She is still stunned by the condition of the sparrow. The bike is cover in dirt and rust so bad that you cannot make out what color it used to be. Then there are the many dents on one side that it is leaning to that side because the weight distribution unevenly causes it to be unbalanced.   


“In my defense, it looks nothing like the picture.”

Again, she asks, stunned once again, "You accepted an item from a picture?"    


Sighing yet again, Cayde wonders if he’s picked up Ikora’s habit of sighing, "What can I say? I trusted this guardian a little too much. He swore it was brand new when he found it on Venus and purred like a kitten. I'll be lucky if it can make any noise."   


Realizing what happened, Nax bursts out laughing. The great Vanguard got conned by one of her fellow guardians. It is too funny not to laugh. Her laughter echoes throughout the hanger catching the attention of work bots and guardians in the area. In between breathes, she says, "You...sir…were...conned!" She then continues to burst into a new round of laughter, holding her stomach.   


Annoyed,  Cayde tells the guardian, “You know, it’s not that funny.”

“By the Traveler, it is!” cries out Nax. Every time she thinks she is okay, one at the sparrow sends her into yet another laughter fit.    


For five minutes, the  Exo leans against the railing for support as  Nax laughs uncontrollably. As the laughter starts to ease up, she starts breathing correctly. Seeing her blue eyes watery and a bit puffy, some redness, he asks, “Are you done?”

Straightening up,  Nax exhales heavily, “Yeah, I’m good. Who the hell did you bet with?” Descending the stairs, she strolls over to the wrecked sparrow.

“One of my Hunters. I was doing well when this hunter offers his sparrow for the pot."   


“Please don’t tell me it was Red.”

Red is a seasoned Hunter with a reputation as a conman. He would try to trick people into pawning off pieces of crap.

Seeing Cayde is not looking at her, Nax can confirm that the Exo got conned by Red. Stifling a giggle, she says, "It was him."   


Tired of being the butt of  Nax’s jokes,  Cayde asks even more annoyed, “How would you know it was Red?”

“Well, Red is known as a con artist. He’s tried selling me his broken weapons and armors a few times.” The woman examines the bike. She gives a long whistle, “Damn. I’m glad I don’t buy anything from him.”

“Alright,” says Cayde as he joins her, "since you're the all-knowing warlock, what's wrong with this bike?" He waits for her to answer, knowing warlocks are insufficient when it comes to fixing anything. This is the perfect chance for him to redeem himself.   


"Well, based on looks, the sparrow's fame needs to be replaced. The thrusters are shot, although, it will not matter because,"  Nax leans over and tries the starter, "Yep! The starter does not even work. There are a few metal fragments embedded in the sparrow that will need to be remove. Let us not forget the breaks that need replacing. These guys are worn down to nothing. But  that is just a few things. If I were you, I’d scrap it for parts.”

Looking up, she finds  Cayde with a surprised look. His optics are wide, mouth hanging open a little bit, confusing  Nax as her eyebrows knit together, “What’s up with that look?”

“I’m just surprised.”

She inquires, “Of?”

"I'm surprised that you know so much about Sparrows." The man turns toward a long row of Sparrows on the other landing that waits for Amanda to fix them. "All these Sparrows are owned by Warlocks, who asked Amanda to fix them. They would rather hole themselves up in a library than work on their bikes. Can't blame me for being surprised."   


Nax looks at the rows of sparrows. She shakes her head, "Yeah. Well, hanging out here is better than a quiet library and getting glares from your fellow peers." The woman leans on the railing and sighs, "You blow up a lab one time, and they spread a rumor that you're a crazy Warlock."   


“You blew up a lab?” asks Cayde, surprised and amazement bleeding through in his voice. He can just imagine one of the lab's walls covered in black soot as papers rain down onto the floor. In the middle of the lab, he can see her face and clothes covered in ash with a look of confusion on her face. The entire image makes him laugh, so he turns away and covers his mouth as his shoulders shake with laughter. After a few minutes, he calms down. "I would pay glimmer to see a lab like that."   


Nax looks in his direction, a smile on her face, “Let me know when you want to burn some glimmer.”

Returning her attention to the beaten sparrow, she asks, “So, are you going to keep it?” The pitiful thing is sad to look up, may never entirely run correctly either.    


“Yeah,” sighs  Cayde . He walks back to the bike. “A deal is a deal; I made my bed so I must lie in it. Well, that’s what Zavala once told me when I made a mistake.”

“That’s a pretty big bed you’ve made. I think you should see if Amanda can scrap it for you,” suggests the Awoken.

The Exo shakes his head, "Nah. It'll be a good project for me since I'm stuck in this tower. Might as well find something to kill time with." He walks heads toward the stairs where his toolbox sits next to it.   


Nax watches as the Exo begins picking up and putting down tools, deciding which ones  he will need for the project. Shrugging her shoulders, she tells him, “It’s your time and glimmer.”

Watching Amanda approach with a large canvas bag. She walks away, leaving  Cayde to work on his project. The blonde looks up and smiles at the appearance of the warlock, "Hey  Nax . I got those tools you asked for.” She lifts the bag with a grunt and places it on her table.

Smiling brightly, Nax opens the bag and looks inside. It is like Christmas! "Oh, wow! Amanda, this is great! It's almost everything on my list!"   


“Yeah, sorry I didn’t get the last two. I don’t have those parts sparing lying around.”

“It’s  all right ; they are harder to get. How much do I owe you,” asks the woman as she starts pulling out her glimmer.

Amanda raises a hand to stop her, “I don’t need anything.”

"Are you sure? I mean, these tools are hard to find," asks the Awoken, surprised.   


“I just have these guys lying around. But, if you want to repay me,  let us say you owe me a favor,” says the head mechanic with a grin. 

"Ow! Damnit!" yells Cayde. The two women turn in time to watch him jerking his hand out of part of the sparrow. He  continues to shake his hand as if he got shocked.

“Looks like someone needs your expertise. See you around!” She then calls out her ghost, “ Beeze ?” Once he appears,  Nax asks him to take the tools, knowing  it is too heavy for her to carry.

Beezescans and dematerializes the bag into their inventory. He then looks at her, asking, "You still want to go to the library? It should be clear now."   


“Yeah. Let us head over there before it gets too late.” Nax heads toward the exit that would lead to the plaza, "I want to get a few books before I call it a night."   


“See ya around, Nax!” calls out the blond-haired person to the Awoken. The warlock turns around and waves goodbye as she climbs the stairs.    


Now that Nax is gone, Amanda focuses on the hunter who is working on his bike. She offers, "Need any help?"   


“Nope. I just need to — “ Another shock causes him to jerk his hand away and curse once more. “Ow! Damnit! What the hell is shocking me?”

The mechanic pushes the  Exo aside, "Move. Let me see." She inspects the sparrow.

Standing up,  Cayde looks around the area. He notices  Nax is gone. He asks Amanda, “Where’s the Warlock?”

Without looking up, Amanda answers the man’s question. “ Nax ? She just headed out. Her ghost mentioned something about going to the library. .”

Looking over the woman’s shoulder, he states, “It was odd seeing her in this area. What did she  want? ”

Continuing to look to find the source of sparking, she answers, " Nax came by asking for some tools. Said something about working on a project.”

"A project? Huh. I have to admit; she's a bit different than the other Warlocks."   


"Yup." She makes the popping noise at the end of the 'P.' "She's the first warlock that knows her way around a wrench. She comes around now and then to help me out."   


“So, you get her tools?”

Shaking her head, the mechanic states, "No. She said she was bored waiting for the library out, so Nax," she grunts a little pulling out a stray piece of metal, "comes here to work on her ship."   


“Most of the time? How come I don’t see her around when I come here?”

“I don’t know.  You are either busy or busy placing bets or working on this piece of junk. But she also keeps to herself. I am a bit surprised she was having a full conversation with you.”

“Why is that? I’m a lovable guy.”

Amanda shoots him a look that states, ' _ really? _ ' "Yeah, well, you have a habit of not learning where people's boundaries are."

“Do I look like someone that doesn’t respect boundaries?”

"Yes." Getting up, she wipes her hands on a red rag that is tuck in her pocket.   


Cayde pulls a false hurt look, placing a hand on his chest. “Ouch! Amanda, you wound me with your words.”

“You’ll live,” calls the woman. Standing straight, she heads back to her workshop.  There is still a lot of work: all those Sparrows. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out my Author Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I keep fans update with all my work.
> 
> Facebook: @Katieknovakauthor
> 
> Instagram: @katiek_novak
> 
> Twitter: @Katelynnk_Novak


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: 
> 
> Eyes up, Guardian! 
> 
> You will see some of the chapters being repost as I am double back and look at my grammar, as I am trying to become better on fixing it. If you already read chapters 1-5 please wait for Chapter 6. 
> 
> Thank you all!

**Chapter 3**

The smell of musk from ancient papers that makes up books fills the air, mixed with the scent of yellowing pages; there is a hint of leather and polish, the kind used on wood. Compared to the loud and chaotic hanger, the library is quiet and serene. It has made up of one large room, three levels filled to the brim with books. A red carpet covers the floors on each level, muffling patrons’ footsteps. The cleaning lights are dim, a setting that reduces the older books from being damaged any further. Tables fill the empty floor space, a green desk lamp setting at each, allowing anyone to read without straining their eyes. Temperatures are low, another way to preserve books.    


This is the sights and smells that greet the female warlock as she enters. She breathes in the intoxicating scent that dictates the enormous room of new and old books.   


Beeze, a ghost, appears over his guardian’s shoulder, also scanning to the room. Due to it being late, there is not a large crowd of people. Those left are just a handful from the three classes: Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks.    


“Appears the coast is clear, the only season Warlock is Vale,” declares the ghost.

Nax, the female Awoken, scans the room until she spots a white-haired Awoken browsing the shelves. She has seen him in various places, although, then again, she tends to avoid all Warlocks, so she never talks to them. However, Nax does notice the other warlock playing cat and mouse game with his female teammate, a Hunter who is always quiet, wearing her helmet every time Nax has seen her. There is also a Titan on the man’s team who is as strong as he is loud.   


She admits it is funny watching the three chase one another around the tower. A few times, Nax and Evie watch them run around screaming. It always makes Evie question why the Warlocks are so worried about Nax when this fireteam is even more chaotic, dare she say crazy?

Setting her mind back to the task at hand, Nax makes her way toward a set of bookshelves. They hold a variety of leather-bound books written by fellow Guardians over the decades.

The simple teal shell that is a ghost follows behind the warlock. Watching his guardian scanning the books, he asks, “What are we looking for today?”

“Hmmm, not sure. Something fun to read,” Nax tells her ghost as she skims over the titles in silver writing on the spines of the books.   


Letting out an annoyed noise, Beeze allows his back panels to spin. “Nax, don’t take it the wrong way, but your definition of fun is reading those out of date technology manuals.”   


In a quiet voice, Nax glances at her ghosts; she asks, “What’s wrong with reading those books? I find them interesting in how far we have come with technology.”   


“You should broaden your horizon in reading,” argues the ghost bobbing up in down in the air.

Seeing this turning into an argument, the guardian stops scanning the shelves to turn to her teal ghost. Sighing, she questions him, “Okay, fun police, what should I read then?”   


Panel spinning,  Beeze pauses to think about it. “How about a fiction book?”

“Mind narrowing it down for me,” asks Nax. She runs a blue finger along the spines before stopping at a black leather-bound one titled,  _ The Theory of Vexes, _ “Like which genre?”

“Romance?” suggests Beeze. He can see his Awoken Guardian already trying to stifle a giggle.

“Beeze,” chuckles Nax, “Why on earth do I want to read about that stuff?” She pulls another book out, this one with a beat-up brown cover.  It is titled:  _ Golden Age Technology _ . 

“What about a thriller? One about a killer?” Again, she shakes her head. He challengers, “Why not? You used to read a lot of them just a while ago.”

“Yeah, I used to, but I got tired of guessing who did it in the middle of the book only to be right by the end.”

“What about comedy? You like jokes.”

“Enough to read those books about a hundred times. So, unless there are new or hard ones,  I will pass. Besides, I’m not a funny person.”

Annoyance shows through the ghost’s lens, “Says the one that named me Beeze and tells Evie those terrible puns any chance she gets. What about fantasy? You like those knight stories.”

Pausing with her hand hovering over another book, Nax is getting annoyed herself. “Okay, tell you what, Beeze, how about you go ahead and pick one for me to read while I finish up here.”   


Making a joyful whirling noise in agreement, Beeze  quickly flies off. His target, well goal, searching for a book. 

Nax shakes her head at her ghost’s excitement, the warlock moves to another shelf, thankful for the brief silence. Eyes scan titles again with a clearer head. At the top of a bookshelf, ocean blue eyes stop on a black book’s spine, the titled written in silver:  _ The  _ _ History _ _ of the Fall and Their Worship of Technology. _

“Alright, not a great title, but the information will be helpful.” Standing on her tiptoes, the Awoken woman tries to pry the book off the shelf. Her fingers just graze the bottom of the book. “Damnit!” curses the woman under breath.    


A blue hand reaches above her head, gently pulling the book off the shelf. “Here you are,” says a warm voice behind her, cause Nax to spin around.

Upon spinning,  Nax at once  recognize s the other blue skin Awoken: Vale. He has white hair  and a fellow Warlock. In his hands is the book, holding out to her with a warm smile. It unnerves Nax a bit, but she hesitantly takes the book.

“Thank you,” thanks Nax quietly, careful to avoid eye contact with the seasoned warlock.   


Vale’s smile widens. “You’re welcome…” The man trails off, realizing he  cannot place the female’s name, “I am sorry, I don’t think we have met before. I’m Vale.” He holds out a hand with long slender fingers.

Nax looks at the book in the warlock’s hand, the Awoken wishes her ghost is here to play interference. As he is no, she decides not to be rude and stretches her hand out into his, shaking it. She notes his hands are smooth, like most warlocks who do not work with their hands off the field. “I’m Nax.” Now she only waits for his response, reaction to finding out who she is as everyone else has.   


“Nice to meet you, Nax. I do not believe I have seen you around much. If you ever need help or a fellow Warlock to talk to, just ask around,” he advises her warmly while releasing her hand.   


Nax’s face contorts into one of confusion and disbelief. She can only stare at the warlock, figuring out if he is joking or messing with her. How did he not know her? Every warlock gives her glares or stare her down and shoo her away, not kindly either.   


“Is this a joke? I don’t see how this can be funny on anyone’s end,” declares the smaller two Warlocks. Annoyed, she drops her book on her already growing pile.   


She watches the man’s reaction as he goes from being kind and warm smiles to lost and confused. He apologizes, yet unsure for what, “I’m sorry. I  did not mean to offend you. Did I say something wrong?”

Realizing Vale is not joking, she sees a confuse look on his face. It makes her feel foolish. Deciding not to stay any longer than longer she steps around him toward the counter, “No, you didn’t feel sorry, I just , “

The whispering starts up, coming from a few newcomer Warlocks huddled together. They are talking in hushed tones while pointing toward her and Vale. Deciding not wanting to start a new mess of rumors or worsen what has just begun and no doubt will be a mess of rumors, either way, she turns toward the other Awoken and tries to give a warm smile of her own. Nax is sure he can see through her smile, “Thank you for helping me. I have to head out now.” And on that note, she turns again and strolls toward the checkout counter with her massive pile of books.   


Soft footsteps follow her to the front. Behind her, she hears Val speak, “I truly am sorry if I said something to offend you. It was not my intention. I hope you’ll forgive me.”   


Nax Shakes her head as she  turns around towards the snow haired Warlock. “You didn’t say anything to offend me. I just thought you were playing a prank. Don’t worry about it,” assures Nax with a timid smile. “It’s just odd not running into anyone that doesn’t know the rumors.”

The man in front of her rolls his eyes, “My fireteam and I hate rumors. Trust me, the one rumor you will not hear about us is how we go after those who start them, especially the bad ones. I tend to ignore all rumors.  It is like judging a book by a cover. I just met you, so I have no room to judge you.”

“I will keep that in mind. Sorry for being rude, it’s  simply hard to trust fellow Warlocks that chase you out of places.”

The warlock turns his head over his shoulder and glares at them upon hearing whispering starting up. Nax watches as the man’s glare causes the other  rookie Warlocks to tense up, gather their things, and make haste for the exit.  There is a flash of anger, but it disappears as he returns to look at her.

“It’s fine. No one should judge another without knowing the whole story. Do enjoy the rest of your day. If the other Warlocks become too much trouble, please let me know.”

The female nods her head and thanks him again just as her teal ghost, Beeze, appears next to her. “ Nax ! I found you a great—“He stops noticing the two talking, “Am I interrupting?”

“No, Beeze. Vale is just saying goodbye,” answers Nax. She looks at Vale, who nods his head in agreement.   


“Yes, I was just leaving. But Nax, do not forget my offer if you need anything. I will be happy to help you.” He lifts a hand in a small wave goodbye before returning to the books, disappearing behind a few shelves.

Seeing that Vale has returned to his searching, Nax approaches the counter, placing books down. The bot looks up, greets her neutrally, “Good evening, guardian.”   


“Good evening,” greets Nax back warmly.

A massive book appears before the Awoken on the counter, Beeze hovering over it with a look of pride in his lens. Excited, he babbles, “I present you the book! I think you’re going to enjoy it a lot.”   


Unable to prevent the smile from upon her face, she pushes the book toward the checkout bot. “I would like to check these out please,” informs Nax, now smiling genuinely. ****

The checkout bot takes the pile of books. One by one, it flips the book on its front then opening the back cover to scan the barcode of each. Once finished, it pushes the books toward Nax again, “Have a good evening, guardian.”   


“Thank you, and you as well.” Nax gathers the massive pile of books into her arms before taking the exit toward the courtyard. ****

###   


A cool breeze greets Nax as she walks into the empty courtyard. Since there are no stands or merchants in this area, most Guardians prefer to spend their time in the plaza. Enjoying her solitude Nax takes the time crossing the courtyard towards the elevator leading up to the guardian’s rooms.   


“So Beeze?” asks Nax as she glances over to her teal ghost.

“Hmm?” hums Beeze as he follows her, bobbing up and down happily.

“What’s the book about,” questions the Awoken curiously. Nax forgot to read the title when Beeze dropped it earlier, and now  it is buried in the pile of her books.

She watches as the ghost makes a whirling noise, bobbing up and down a bit faster. “Oh no,” starts Beeze, drawing out the first ‘O.’ “I’m not going to tell you. You will have to read to find out,” informs the ghost as they arrive at one of the three silver doors elevators.   


“All right. Fine, I will read it tonight.  It is not like I have anything else to do. I’m bored out of my mind while I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for Evie or your rest period to be over?”

“Both. Evie isn’t here, so I don’t have anyone to kill time with,” states Nax as she presses the down arrow button as it lights up.   


Beeze floats in front of her, a few inches away from her nose. He suggests, “If you’re so bored, then why don’t you ask Ikora to lift the rest period?”   


The ocean blue Warlock gently pushes him away as she waits for the elevator. “You know what happened the last time I did that. Zavala scolded me.”   


“I haven’t forgotten that you were a bit rude to Cayde-6.”

She looks at him, confused, “I wasn’t rude toward him. Besides, he  did not seem to bother seeing me today. I bet he doesn’t remember it was me anyway.”

“You answered him in a rude tone,” scolds Beeze. However, seeing Nax looking at him with a confused look on her face, he sighs and floats lower. “See, this is why you can’t make friends easily; you don’t realize when you are rude towards people.”

“I’m not rude all the time,” defends Nax.

“Oh, no? What about Vale in the library? He was just trying to be friendly, and you gave him the cold shoulder.”   


“You know what? I am fine just the way I am. I don’t need to ‘try’ and make friends with other Warlocks,” declares Nax, telling Beeze off. She is tired of being told to make friends with people that  do not want to be her friend. “If they have an issue with me, then they can go suck the big toe of a Fallen.

“Fallen don’t have toes,” informs the small AI.

Nax shoots him a glare with her blue eyes as a light ding announces the elevator’s arrival. “You know what I mean. I don’t need to make friends; I have enough,” declares the Awoken as she walks into the small lift.

The small room has white marble floors, gold veins running through them. Returning guardians from the battlefield, the walls are painted in a dark blue to calm down. On either side of the silver doors are three rows of twenty-five buttons, each with a number, starting with one, two, three at the bottom that goes all the way up until it stops at one hundred and twenty-six. Nax presses the number twenty-four, lighting it up as the door closes before starting its descent.   


“I do have Hunter friends, you know,” starts Nax as she looks at him droop just a little.”   


“Nax, I hate to tell you this, but they just want to hang out with you to tell their friends that they’re ‘friends’ with the ‘ feral’ warlock. Also,  do not bring up Titans because every time they come around, it’s to get your ration tickets since you barely use them.”

“Well, I have Evie,” protests the Awoken.

“You two barely see each other as it is. Usually, when the warlock comes back, you have a day or two before you head out on a mission.”   


Nax looks at her ghost. “I have you as a friend. Beeze,  why would I need friends? I’m happy with the number of people I have.”

“You could make a few more friends. What about Vale?”

“As I said, he was just nice to me. He has that Hunter and Titan. He does not need to have a clingy, warlock. Besides, I should get back to the research,” says Nax tiredly of this conversation.   


“A research with no deadline leaving plenty of time to make more friends?” argues Beeze. “What about Cayde-6?”

Nax tosses her head back and gives a loud groan. “Beeze, please!” cries out the woman.  She is thankful they are the only ones in the elevator.

“I highly doubt the Hunter Vanguard wants to be involved with me while I do research. Remember that it is not a good idea. You know, just because I talk to someone does not mean they are perfect to be my friend. It doesn’t work like that, at least not with me anyway, and you know that!” She adds the last part quickly, knowing he will say something like: ‘That’s how it works with others.’   


“No, you become friends with people when they feed you. You act more like a stray dog than a Warlock.”

The elevator slows to a stop. With a ding, the number twenty-four lights up, informing the guardian and her ghost that they have arrived on their designated floor. The silver doors open to a hallway with navy blue carpets and cream walls. On either side of the hall are rows of chocolate wood doors, each with a number entry and palm scanner beside them.    


Beeze and Nax remain quiet as they walk down the hall, passing each door. They stop at one entrance with the number eleven above it. The warlock stops and places her palm on the scanner. A soft green light scans the palm before disappearing, the door clicking unlocks.   


A dark and silent apartment greets them as they open the door. Beeze enters first, flittering lamp to lamp, turning them on as light drowns the room. It is one of Nax’s inventions, allowing the ghost to turn the lamps on, and  he is glad she made them.

Nax steps in, shutting the door with her foot. Turning, she heads toward the kitchen breakfast counter where she drops the books. Unlike the other guardians who enjoy redecorating their apartments to make it feel like their own, Nax never has. She leaves it as she got it; beige carpet and white walls to match the white kitchen tiles.   


“You know, while we are on a rest period, we should redecorate this place,” suggests the teal ghost as he hovers in the middle of the living room.  There is only a large screen TV against the wall with a tan couch and a matching coffee table sitting between them.

Looking up from the task of separating the books on what to read tonight and later, Nax asks, “What are you talking about redecorating? I bought that TV last month.”   


“Buying a TV doesn’t count as redecorating. But at least consider buying a new couch. Maybe get one with a pull-out bed since you refuse to sleep in your bedroom.”

“The only reason why it because it’s too small and it reminds me of that place. Anyway, I barely sleep as it is. It would be a waste of glimmer,” informs the warlock, as she picks up the leather book Beeze choose for her. She walks over to the couch, “I’m going to read, so go ahead and watch what you want.”   


“That’s another thing; what’s the point of buying a TV when you’re not going to watch it,” complains Beeze.

The woman looks up, annoyed after sitting down, and opening her book. “I got the TV for you to watch. Plus, I like the background noise. Why are you complaining when you watch it enough for both of us? What is the show you like right now?”   


Beeze sighs in defeat. His guardian is right; he does enjoy watching the Golden Age TV shows that can be aired on their small range TV or what it can air. “It’s called Ispy, the Robot Detective,” informs him. He flies closer to her and settles on the back of the couch as Nax picks up the remote and turns it on.   


“Remind me one day to see if I can alter the settings on the TV so you can turn it on and off, as well as channel surf.”

Beeze’s lens zoom in on her, “You don’t have to do that, you know.”   


The woman shrugs her shoulders as she turns the page of her book. “I want to help you have more freedom. Plus, then I don’t have to stop what I’m reading to turn the TV on or change the channel or volume for you if I alter it.”

“Fine, it keeps you out of trouble,” grumbles Beeze. He turns his attention back to the show, ignoring the warlock as she snickers at him and another page’s turning.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out my Author Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I keep fans update with all my work. 
> 
> Facebook: @Katieknovakauthor
> 
> Instagram: @katiek_novak
> 
> Twitter: @Katelynnk_Novak


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: 
> 
> Eyes up, Guardian! 
> 
> You will see some of the chapters being repost as I am double back and look at my grammar, as I am trying to become better on fixing it. If you already read chapters 1-5 please wait for Chapter 6. 
> 
> Thank you all!

**Chapter 4**

Nax is snap out of her reading trance  by a loud crash snaps the, coming from above her. Her neighbors upstairs, Screaming, follows  immediately after the crashing noise. 

The Awoken glances to the end table, hearing Beeze booting for the day.   


She informs him, “It’s the neighbors upstairs again. They’ve been noisy since they brought in a new hunter to their fire team.”

The teal ghost stares at the ceiling as another crash happens, follow by  muffle voices. Beeze turns to his guardians and notices she is still in the same spot on the couch from the night before. A quick scan around the room informs  Beeze that the only thing that changes is the amount of Cola cans on the coffee table; they grew to  considerable numbers overnight. 

“You didn’t sleep, again did you?”

Closing her book, the Awoken woman shakes her head. “I wasn’t tired; besides, it’s your fault,” informs  Nax as she stands and heads to the bathroom.

Looking up from the coffee table, Beeze floats to the bathroom. 

“Wait, my fault?” He stops in front of the closed bathroom door. “How on earth is it my fault you didn’t sleep?”

“Because I stayed up reading the book you picked out for me,” muffles Nax from behind the door.

The ghost sighs in frustration, “You know, they invented this amazing thing to help you keep your place in the book. Do you know what  it is called? It’s called a bookmark!”

The door silently opens to  Nax dress in a large white fluffy towel. She gives him a look before turning to the white marble sink to brush her teeth. “I didn’t need a break. As I said, I wasn’t tired.” 

Turning the nobs of the shower on, the Awoken female lets it run. Using her hand, she tests the water temperature. Please, she hangs her towel up, scars littering her back and legs that her ghost could not completely heal. Jumping into the raining shower, the woman sighs in content as the warm water eases her stiff muscles.

“Also, the book was excellent. Who knew a book about element bending would be so interesting.”

“So, I’m guessing you finish it,” asks  Beeze as he enters the bathroom. He notices a mess on the white counter, around the sink: toothpaste lying open next to a purple toothbrush. There are a few hair ties and a brush full of blue hair. 

Turning his optic, Beeze spots a pile of clothes sitting on top of the toilet seat. He floats over to them and takes them to the laundry chute. Once done there, he returns to the sink to see what he can do with the mess.    


“You, I am not your maid. One of these days, you will have to clean up after yourself. I mean, the least you can do is put your clothes in the laundry chute. It’s right beside the shower.”   


“Yeah, yeah. I know, I…” She pauses as a thought crosses her mind. “Wait, did you take the clothes that were on the toilet?”

“You mean the pile of clothes? Yes. I put them in the laundry chute.”

“Beeze!” Her groans echo in the small tiled room. “Those were clean clothes!”

“How am I  supposed to know? You leave your clothes lying around this place. If I  were not on you to keep this place clean, it would look like a pigsty!” Argues  Beeze back.

Knowing he is right, Nax does not argue back. Instead, she starts washing her hair, massaging the shampoo into her scalp to avoid another argument.   


“I swear, sometimes you—” Beeze is interrupted by a notification from a message that has just come in. He informs his guardian, “Oh, it looks like Amanda sent you a message.”   


After rinsing the shampoo from her hair, the warlock blindly gropes for the conditioner bottle. “Beeze, can you play it, please?”   


The mechanic’s voice begins to play in the hot room. “ _ Hey, guardian. I want to cash in that favor. Meet me at the hanger when you can. I’ll be there all day, so no rush.” _ The message ends at the same time as Nax turns the shower off.

“Welp.” Opening the shower door a bit, Nax grabs the towel. “I should get ready then. No point in keeping her waiting.”   


Exiting the shower, the towel wrap around herself; she makes sure the top part of the towel is tucked in. “Could you please message her; tell her I’m on my way?” asks the woman as she grabs another towel to dry her hair.   


“I figured you wanted to do it ASAP, so I already messaged her that you are. While you get ready, want me to get you another set of clothes?”

The blue Awoken woman shakes her head, “No, that’s  all right . I will get them. Last time you did it, you forgot the underwear. She brushes and braids her blue hair. Please with the hairstyle, she examines her face, noticing the dark bags under her eyes. She sighs, “Ikora isn’t going to be happy seeing these.”

“Well, if you slept like you are  supposed to , then you wouldn’t have to worry about those bags,” begins  Beeze .

“Save it,  Beeze ,” States the woman. She walks past him and opens the three-shelf closet. On the top shelf are two stacks of fluffy white towels. Next to them are matching hand towels. The second shelf has one neatly folded clothes, the bottom shelf  holding her under armor for battle. 

“Hmm… I think I’m in the mood for a different role today,” Announces the warlock to Beeze. She pulls the last pile of  clothes from the second shelf and begins to dress.

Noticing the scars, Beeze waits for her head to pop out of the shirt to ask, “How are your scars doing, Nax?”   


“That’s random, but they’re doing fine.”

“I’m just asking because last week you said some of them were hurting. One of my updates is the new medical journal. They sometimes said scar tissues could cause discomfort and muscle damage as well .”

Finished getting dressed, she turns to her worried ghost. She gives Beeze a reassuring, warm smile, “I’m fine, Beeze; don’t worry, okay?”   


The ghost eases a bit, knowing that she would not make him worry despite his guardian being careless. Examining her clothes, he realizes something off about them. “Are those Evie’s clothes?”   


“Yup,” exclaims Nax happily as she checks herself out in the full-length mirror. “These are her old ones that were damaged. I took out the armor plates and sewed any holes up. They are useless for her but great for me to wear when I do errands. What do you think?” She spins around, showing Evie’s old clothes off.

“I think Evie isn’t going to be happy about her clothes getting stolen again.”   


The blue awoken shrugs and heads out, “She’s not going to notice unless someone tells her.”

“I’m your ghost. I don’t need another death wish,” Informs the teal ghost to  Nax as they both exit the apartment. 

##### 

“Cayde, are you busy?” Calls Ikora from across the table.    


The  exo lifts his head from his map to his teammate. “No, not as much as you are. What’s up?” 

“As you can see, I’m a bit busy. I was wondering if you can head into the city and pick up something for me.” 

“Yeah?” His interest and excitement at the thought of leaving the tower. “What is it?” 

“A book. I have received word that it arrived at the store, but as you can see, I am unable to go and retrieve it.” She tells him right as a Warlock comes up to her to give their report. 

Cayde knows how swamp  she has been since she arrived in the hall this morning; none stop reports. But just doing an errand sounds more like a  rookie job. “Ikora you know I would love to get out of this tower but—” 

“You offered to help me yesterday. I can see you are not busy. It’s only a small errand, should not take you more than an hour to complete it,” States the warlock.   


With no way out of it, Cayde sighs and holds out his hand, “Give me the address.”

Smiling, Ikora pulls out a piece of scrap paper and writes the address down. “Thank you, Cayde; I can always count on you.”   


Taking the slip of paper form her, the  exo nods. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be back in an hour,” Calls Cayde over his shoulder as he ascends the stairs. 

Standing outside the elevator, the hunter takes the time to look at the address. He talks to himself, “Looks like I will have to take the train out to the city’s outskirts to this shop.”   


A bell sounds the arrival of the elevator. Stepping into the elevator with a few other guardians, he looks at the buttons to find the ground floor one but sees that it has already been press. Cayde enjoys the conversation and picks up some of the conversations: some are talking about places they have been to and places they want or should go to on their R&R. There are discussions of missions they have been on and heading out on to. Conversations like these remind Cayde of the good old days.   


A light ding announces the arrival at ground level, doors sliding open to allow everyone out into the lobby. The lobby is an open-air floor with white marble with gold veins runningthrough each slab. A few benches line the lobby’s side for sitting on while a holo Tv shows the news and messages for every passing person.   


Walking to the back of the tower where the train station is, he takes note of the crowd already waiting. Scanning the sea of people, his electrifying blue optics land on a familiar warlock. Is she dressed up as a hunter? Intrigued, he weaves through the crowd towards the woman, careful not to let her see him.  It is not hard for him considering her nose is in a book.

“Well, isn’t it the Warlock mechanic,” Greets Cayde from behind the woman.

Nax spins around too quickly, catching her left foot on her right ankle. A look of surprise is painted on her face as she stumbles back toward the tracks. 

Mirroring her shock, Cayde reaches out, grabbing her wrist  to stop her from falling.

“Sorry! Sorry!” The exo apologizes as he pulls Nax back on her feet; Cayde quickly explains, letting go of her hand and picking up her book, “I was just getting back at you from laughing at me yesterday.”    


“I’m okay.”  Nax smiles and accepts the book back, “What are you doing up so early? I thought the hunter slept until noon.” 

“Yeah, they aren’t Vanguard, so I have to be up pretty early.” He sighs, “Speaking of hunters,” Cayde looks her overtaking in the hunter armor, but noticing the protective lining is gone, “Why are you wearing a hunter armor? Are you thinking about switching sides?” The exo teasing.   


The warlock shakes her head, placing the book in her bag. “No, I had an outfit picked out but somebody, not going to name who, mistook them to be dirty, so this is the only outfit I have that’s clean. Besides where I am going, being a hunter will be easier than being seen as a warlock over there.”   


“Oh? You’re on an errand for Amanda?” He asks head cocked a bit. “How about we make a deal.”    


“A deal?” Her interest perks up as she looks at  Cayde , holding a piece of paper in his hand. 

“Yes, a deal, I’ll help you do your errand, and you help me do mine,” Suggests Cayde to her with a smile.    


“How is that a deal?” She asks a bit disappointed 

“Oh, come on, it will be a lot more fun than doing it on your own.  Besides, I know the parts owner, I can give you a great deal.” The hunter puts his hands together, pleading to the warlock. 

The blue woman watches him begging as she notices people staring and whispering. Sighing, she gives in, “Alright fine. I’ll help you.”    


He beams with  a silly grin on his face, “Great!” Cayde places an arm around her shoulder just as the train comes to a stop, the door opening. 

##### 

They arrive at the last stop, exiting as the doors open. The neighborhood on the outskirts of the city Located to the right against the wall. The houses and shops are a bit shabby, run-down.    


The hunter let  out a long whistle. “It’s been a long time since I last been here.” 

“Yeah, time flies being trapped in the tower ,” Nax says as she takes in the surroundings. “Look like they didn’t repair the wall yet.” 

“The wall? What’s wrong with it?” 

“See that part above the Ramen shop?” 

Cayde looks where  she is pointing, finding a piece of the wall broken off. “What the hell? When did that happen?” He moves a bit closer to try to get a better view. Since  it is at the top of the wall, he cannot see much. 

“It happened a few months ago,” She informs him climbing down the stairs, starting to walk down the dirt road. “Come on, the train took longer than I thought  today, and we are burning daylight.” 

Turning around, Cayde walks fast to catch up with her, “Wait a minute. How did you know about this?” 

“Evie and I were sent here to get a report about fallen that got behind the wall. By the time we got here, the people had already handled them. We put in a request to have the wall repairs, but it looks like they didn’t get to it.” 

“I’ll look into it,” Assures the hunter. 

“You don’t need to tell me. I  do not live here. Let us go ahead and get your book first as the place is closer to the train station. The shopkeeper likes to close at dusk.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” He tells her in an absent-minded tone looking at the damage spots. The thought of how close the fallen got this close made him unsettling before he catches up with the blue warlock, he turns to his ghost. “Ace, take a picture of it and send it to Zavala.” 

For twenty minutes, Cayde follows Nax down the dirt road and past the small market next to the train. The citizens would trade their rations for goods and services. The warlock made a sharp right and went up another road going past a shop selling baked goods, making her stomach growls before Cayde could say anything they arrive at the bookstore.   


The store is small on the ground floor, books cramming every available space. Walking through the narrow walkway to the back of the story, they find a little old lady sitting behind a counter littered with more books. Hearing the set of footsteps, the woman looks up with a warm smile.

“Welcome! Welcome!” Greets the elderly lady chipperly, “How can I help you today?”

Naxdid not say anything, waiting for Cayde to say something. When he did not say anything, she turns and stares at him. She finds the Hunter Vanguard staring around the crowded room in awe, no doubt wondering how so many books can fit. Thus, the warlock nudges him to get his attention.   


“Huh?” His blue optics turn to Nax, confuse until he realizes why she elbows him. “Oh! Yes! Sorry miss, I’m here to pick up a book for Ikora.” Cayde steps closer to the desk and shows the tiny woman the slip of paper.    


Leaning over the counter, the elderly lady pulls out a pair of glasses and puts them on. She reads the paper, “Ah, yes, that one.   


Jumping down from her bar stool, she enters through a small doorway behind the counter. As she looks for the order, her voice drifts out from the room. “It took a long time to find it, but” she returns with a small brown box, a brown string tied around it. “One of your guardians, dressed just like you, we’re able to find it for me.”

Picking up the package from the counter, Cayde smiles, “Thanks, I know Ikora appreciates it.”

“Tell her she is welcome to order anytime as long as she sends a handsome exo to pick it up,” Informs the bookkeeper with a wink.

Nax quickly turns, trying to hide her giggling while the hunter stumbles, surprised by the elderly’s flirting.   


Nax quickly turns away, hiding her suppress laughing. If Cayde could blush, he would be beet red. “Um, t-t-thank you?” The orange light at the back of his throat lights up as he clears it, “I, umm, need…” He looks toward the warlock for help only to find she is a giggling mess. An idea strikes him and grabs Nax by her shoulders. He moves her in front of him, between him and the store owner, “I need to take this hunter to a shop, you know.    


Nax tries not to trip as she allows the exo to lead her out of the store and back onto the street. Once on the road, Cayde stops pushing her and begins walking in front of her, 

“Thanks for the help,” thanks to the  exo grumpily.

Giggling, Nax apologizes, “I’m sorry, but she’s harmless. She likes to tease the newbies that come to her shop.” 

Handing the box to his ghost, Cayde begins to complain, “I wish you would have warned me about her.”

“I was, but then I figure this could be payback for scaring me at the station,” States the warlock. Nax takes the lead to the part store, hands behind her back.   


Realizing they would continue to get back at one another, Cayde suggests a truce, “Let’s agree not to prank each other while we’re out, agreed?”

Nax shrugs her shoulders, “Agree.  Let us head to the part shop before it gets too late.” 

As they walk, they pass a stand selling steam buns. The smell is intoxicating, causing Nax’s stomach to rumble, a reminder of not eating.   


The hunter, though, hearing her stomach roar, says nothing as he walks up to the stand and orders some buns. After he paid for them, he hands one to a confused warlock as he begins to eat his. “It would be bad on my side if you pass out from hunger. People will think we’re starving you.”   


Deciding to accept the food, she takes a big bite out of one. With her mouth full, she mumbles, “Thank you.”

“No problem. So, when was the last time you ate?

Inhaling the bun,  Nax chews the last few bites of her bun as she claps her hands together,  removal them of the access crumbs. “I don’t remember. I either forget to eat, or I don’t feel hungry.”

Intrigued, Cayde begins to ask, “Uh, that’s odd. I thought you were one of those emo guardians. You know, ‘Oh!  Woe is me!  I am so depressed!’” He cries the last part out dramatically while placing the back of his hand on his forehead leaning back a bit.

Hearing a stifled giggle, the hunter straightens up and looks at her. Seeing her covering her mouth and looking away, he thought she’s embarrassed, but watching her shoulders shaking tell him otherwise. “Or are you one of those, ‘I’ve done so much wrong, I need to punish myself!’” cries out the Exo, making the motion of plunging a dagger into his gut.   


Nax smiles. She explains, “I don’t think I’m those emo people with a shake of her head. For me, I do not know really, as I keep ‘reviving.’ Each revives a reset for the body, like when the Exo’s get rebooted, but instead of losing my memories, it just repairs my damaged body and resets any internal issues. For example, fatigue, hunger, etc. Though my body shows I need food and sleep, I just don’t feel it.”   


“Yup, you’re a warlock,  all right . Just try to eat occasionally,” Suggests the Hunter. Nax’s ghost hums in agreement getting a glare by her.

Nax nods, “I’ll try my best.” She is not thrilled to have someone telling her what to do.   


Arriving at the parts shop, they find it set up in an old gas station. The fuel pumps were gone years ago. A few cars are scattered around, some already taken apart while others are rusting on yellow grass.   


“Now Nax, this guy is pretty sneaky with selling his parts. Let me do all the talking,” directs Cayde, an air of confidence with his chin tilting up.

Nax would stare at the Hunter oozing confidence from his pores if he had pores. She fights the urge to remind him of what happened with Red. Giving in, she hands him the slip that Amanda gave her earlier, “Alright. I’ll let you take the lead on this one.”   


Taking it, Cayde’s optics beam with excitement. “Alright, watch, and learn.” He tells her, walking through the shatter glass door, which still gives a cheerful ding. “Hey, Fin! How’s it going?”    


A young human looks up from working on an engine that is sitting on a work desk. His face is cover in grease oil. The floor is so  dirty that it is hard to see the original marble tile floor. There are three rows laid out, all overflowing with miscellaneous parts. The man peers across the  dimly lit room, “Cayde?”

“The one and only. How have you been?” Asks Cayde, approaching the counter.

The man walks around the counter and embraces the hunter in a hug. “I’m doing well. I’m surprised they let you out of the tower.”   


As they pull from the embrace, the man steps back and looks over his friend’s shoulder. He notices the Awoken woman standing next to him. “Who’s this? Are you training  newcomers now?

“Nice to meet you. I’m Nax,” Greets the woman warmly.

“Nax?” The man thinks about it, “How do I know that name.”

Like a lightbulb turning on, the man realizes where he heard the name from; he steps back from her startled, “Holy crap! The Feral Warlock!” He turns to the Hunter Vanguard, his eyes wide in panic, “Are you crazy? Why are you  spending time together with her?

Cayde looks surprised. Before he can say anything, Nax gives a long, tired sigh. She mumbles, “I’m not ‘feral’ all the time, only around Fallen. Cayde, I’m going to wait outside.”   


Cayde does not get a chance to reply, only watches her leave. The exo notice the bounce in her step from before is now gone. Snapping towards the merchant, he exclaims, “What the hell, man?! That wasn’t cool!”   


“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard about her?” Seeing  Cayde shakes his head, Fin sighs. “That warlock has issues, man. I say cut your losses while you can.” 

“Why is that?”

“Because she’s a dangerous man. She is out for Fallen blood. I heard every time there is a mission, she puts her whole fireteam in danger. Rumors say she’s been through five teams.”    


“Five? You must be joking. If  it has been five, I would have heard of it,” states Cayde to Fin with a little chuckle. 

The mechanic shrugs his shoulder, “What I heard is that her personality changes from that happy go lucky warlock to a rage- filled feral that can’t be stopped. I think last time she  attacked one of her teammates during a mission.”

The thought of  Nax jumping someone causes him to laugh  aloud . “Fin, those are rumors, right? There is no way she would do that.” He stops laughing when he sees how serious Fin is.

“You know what they say about rumors. There is always some truth in them. I would check your reports. Anyway, enough talk of that.,” Says the young man, face changing from serious to a big smile, “What can I do for you?”    


After twenty minutes, the blue  exo walks out of the shop with a box full of Amanda parts. He scans the area looking for the warlock, finding her sitting on an old bus bench reading her book as she  waits.

Walking up behind her, he leans against the bench’s back. “So,” starts Cayde, stretching the ‘o.’ “That was fun.”

“Yeah, that was a barrel of laughs,” comments the Awoken as she turns a page.

The silence  stays , causing Cayde to be unable to stand it, “So—”

“I’m not going to tell you about the rumors. They’re just a bunch of guardians making up stores.” She slams her book shut and stands, shoving it in her bag. Turning around, she looks at the shop before looking at Cayde with her electric blue eyes. She notes his worry about expression. Sighing, she gives him a smile, “Thanks for getting the parts for me. Evie would usually go in and deal with him while I do other stuff.” She takes the box and heads toward the train station, “It’s going to get dark soon; we should head back to the station now.”    


“Um, okay, but at least let me carry the box for you,” Offers the Vanguard.   


Nax shakes her head, continuing to walk towards the station, “I fight Fallen all the time. What kind of guardian would I be if I can’t carry this small box of parts?” 

####

The ride to the tower is quiet. Cayde tries to start a few conversations with Nax, but the warlock would answer in short replies only to return to reading. So, he is left to sit in silence. Once back and off the train, Nax says her goodbye before heading off to the hanger, leaving him alone.   


####

Arriving at the hanger, Nax finds Amanda working on a few warlocks’ sparrows. The woman makes her announcement as she walks down the stairs, “Hey, Amanda! I have your parts!”

The mechanic looks up. Standing, she wipes the grease and oil off her hands as she meets  Nax halfway, “Great! Thanks for doing that.  I have been stuck in the hanger all day. Suddenly, the Warlocks need their bikes.”

“Well, the races are coming up, so I can see why.” She places the box full of parts down on the tool bench, “Alright, I’m heading out.”    


Amanda grabs the warlock’s arm, stopping her, “Hey, is everything okay? You usually help me with working on these bikes.”

“Sorry, I’m really into this book, and I want to finish it,” states  Nax , a fake smile in place yet knowing Amanda  is not buying it. 

“Something happens down there, so tell me.”

“It’s nothing. I shouldn’t get upset since I’m used to it by now.” 

Irritated, the blond frowns, “It’s the rumors again? Huh? Fin opened his big fat  mouth, didn’t he?” 

“It’s fine. I’m fine, really,” Insists Nax, freeing her arm. “But I have to go, Amanda. I’ll check in with you tomorrow, okay?” The blue warlock says her goodbyes and heads back out into the courtyard where the sun is setting.   


####

“Hey,  Nax !” Calls out a red Hunter.  Nax stops in front of the elevator to watches the Hunter rush over to her. 

She looks at the human trying to catch his breath, “What is it, Red?”   


Straightening up, he runs fingers through his crimson hair, hoping his pale skin  is not flush, “I’ve been looking for you all day.”

Not impressed, the warlock states, “For the last time, I’m not buying your stuff.”    


“It’s not that. I want to know if you want to go out tonight.”

“No, thank you.” Turning around, she presses the button on the elevator.   


“Come on! By the looks of it, you had  a difficult day . I know a great bar where you can throw shuriken at targets.”

Nax thinks it  through going out and getting drunk does sound like a better plan than holding herself up in her room as she tries to read the same page twenty times.

“I’ll buy a few rounds to sweeten the pot,” offers Red.

“Alright,” Nax turns around to the human, “I’m in.”

“Great!  Let us go now before it gets too crowded.” He slings an arm around her shoulders and leads her back to the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out my Author Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I keep fans update with all my work.
> 
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	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: 
> 
> Eyes up, Guardian! 
> 
> You will see some of the chapters being repost as I am double back and look at my grammar, as I am trying to become better on fixing it. If you already read chapters 1-5 please wait for Chapter 6. 
> 
> Thank you all! 
> 
> Ps. Eve, Vale, Dave, and the black kitten are characters own by a writer call RebelVale23, you can find her work on Fanfiction.net!

**Chapter 5**

Cayde walks in the hall of heroes seeing  Ikora finishing for the day. Talking to the last warlock, she looks up, hearing heavy footsteps from boots of the hunter  exo coming towards her. She gives a warm smile to her teammate. “Welcome back, Cayde how was the trip?” She asks him, dismissing the rookie warlock.

“It went well.” He tells her as Ace materializes the small box in its hunter’s hand. “I went with one of your warlocks, Nax.”

“Oh?” The female warlock says a bit surprised. “How did that go? I hope she wasn’t too rude to you.”

“The trip fine; she wasn’t rude at all. It only went south when someone freaked out overhearing her name.” Cayde says, letting out a sigh.

The human warlock shakes her head in disappointment. “I am sure she was displeased by that action, making your ride back unpleasant. But thank you for getting my book for me.” She takes the book form the Exo hunter’s hands and turns to her many piles of books, collecting them to head home for the day.

Cayde watches her pack up her things. “Hey,  Ikora ? Why do people freak out hearing her name? Are the rumors true about her?”

The Warlock Vanguard stops and looks at him. “I am sad to say it’s because of what happens when she arrives here at the tower. As for the rumors, you know I ignore rumors. But That’s all I can tell about this subject; it is not my story to tell, it’s Nax’s to tell.”

“Yeah, I try that, but she didn’t want to tell me anything,” Cayde complains, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Well, if memory serves, I think one of your hunters found her and brought her in.”  Ikora offered him.

“Yeah, who?” His tone fill with excitement

“The one she was asking about a while back. Evie is her name.”

The excitement drains away, knowing it will be a long time before that hunter comes back from her mission. He glances at his mess on his part of the table; he knows it will be even longer for him to find that report among others’ pile.

As if reading his mind, she gave another smile to him. “If you can’t wait for your hunter or the patience to find her report, then maybe it’s best not to worry about it and let it go.”

“I don’t understand why you can’t tell me. I would tell you about a hunter if you asked.” He said grumbling.

“It’s because she is my warlock and not one of your hunters.”

Before they argue, the commander interrupts. “Cayde.” He calls out to his teammate. “Before you worry about a guardian that is not in your ranks. How about you finish going over your reports for the day and set up a few recon missions for your guardians. 

The hunter vanguard groans throwing his head back, knowing this will take a few hours to finish.

###

After hours of paperwork, Cayde stretches and lets out a loud groan glancing at his blue friend. “I’m done.” He announces to his leader.

Zavala looks up from his clipboard and giving a curt nod. “Thank you, Cayde; you can go for the day.”

Cayde gives a lazy salute and shuffles out of the hall and into the almost empty plaza. “I could use a drink right now.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the traveler before he heads towards one of his favorite watering holes, where he can throw shuriken at targets.

###

Before he even opens the door, he can hear a large crowd hooting and howling. Knowing tonight is not a crucible game tonight; So, he wonders what is going on. He enters the bar and sees the crowd of hunters watching a remarkably familiar warlock throwing the shuriken with one hand and holding a drink in the other. Every time she hits or gets near the center of the target, the crowd will let cheer. 

Cayde smirks, glad to see her in a better mood; he heads to the bar and order as he watches the crowd enjoying the show.

After a few drinks, Red comes up to the bar greetings his friends. Unaware that his Vanguard is sitting right next to him. “So, what do you guys think?” He asks, watching Nax throw another star.

The hunter dress in all in blue gives Nax a once over and looks at his friend Red. “You’re aiming to sleep with the feral warlock, huh?” He asks, taking a sip of his purple liquid.

“How many drinks do you think will it take to get her in bed?” Red’s green hunter friend asks.

Red let us out a groan a little, “So far, drink number five, and she doesn’t look tipsy at all. But I am not going to give up. I mean, who can say they slept with the feral. Besides, she must be wild in bed.” He orders two more drinks as he and his friends laughed.

Listening to this, Cayde was about to say something when Nax came bounding up, placing her empty glass on the wood polish bar. “One more, please.” She says to the bartender with a drink in her hand she turns to Red. “Do you want a turn to throw or play around?” 

“Nah, I’m good, but how about we head out to my place?” He moves closer towards her placing his hand on the small of her back.

The warlock’s blue eyes look at him for a moment and take a sip of her neon green drink. “What do you want to do there?”

“Well,” He moves his hand down her back. “I have a few movies we can watch. I can make you a few more drinks.” Red’s hand rest on Nax’s butt and gives it a bit of a squeeze.

She did not flinch from his touch; she just listens and looks at him, slowly taking a sip from her drink.

Seeing one of his hunters acting like this, Cayde could not sit and pretend he is no longer here. He begins to stand up just as Nax starts to speak. 

“Red, do you want to sleep with me?” She asks bluntly.

The  exo almost spit out his drink from her response.

Red, this did not alarm him; he just gave a broad grin. “If it’s on the table, I won’t say no.”

The awoken takes another sip of her drink. “Alright.”

Both Red and Cayde had a stunned look on their faces.

“Really? I mean great let me just pay them,”

“But we have to do it on Zavala’s bed.” She tells him, watching the hunter breaks out into laughter, thinking she is joking.

But seeing she is not laughing as well, he stops. “You’re not joking, are you? “A feeling a dread wash over him.

“Nope, I heard he has a waterbed, and I always wanted to do it on a waterbed. Besides, the thrill of getting caught by our commander is a big turn on for me.” She tells him, leaning in close to him. “You’re not afraid of getting caught by the titan, are you?”

The hunter vanguard turns away from the two covering his mouth to prevent his laughter from being herd.

“That’s impossible.” Whines Red. “There is no way I would do that; Zavala will kill us.”

Nax moves away from Red. “Then that’s a no, for me; I’m afraid.” She places the glimmer on the bar to pay her tab. “Thanks for taking me out. Red, it has been fun, but I do not think I will be doing it any time soon. So, see you!” She says happily with a smile on her face as she left the bar.

“Oh god damn it!” Red growls are kicking the bar. “I can’t believe this! I thought for sure if I have gotten her drunk enough, she would say yes.”

Having enough listened to these hunters, he singles the bartender letting him know that he is finished drinking and put it on Red’s bill. “Well, boys.” He calls out loudly, getting the attention of the three young hunters. “Though that was fun to watch you crash and burn, you need to learn that’s not how you get a girl to sleep with you. I have to say what you did and say make us hunters look bad.” He gets up from the stool and stands in front of the three. “If I found out either of you three tries this again, you. You will be begging to go out on Zavala’s patrols.” His blue optics turns an angry orange glow. “Do I make myself clear?” 

All three gave a loud audible swallow and nodded their heads simultaneously. “Yes, sir.”

Hearing them acknowledge what he said, Cayde’s optics turn back to their bright blue color, his voice going back to a chipper tone. “Good.” He pats the scare Red on his shoulder. “Red, it’s been fun, thanks for the drinks.” He turns his back at the three and heads out of the bar. Hearing Red cry out on how much Cayde’s tab is.

###

Walking out into the chilly night air, the Vanguard begins to head back to his apartment. He only stops when he sees Nax sitting on the railing, looking up at the  traveler. Approaching her to see if she is okay, he can tell she is not; her cheeks glisten in the moonlight, a sign that she has been crying, and a deep frown is on her face.

Beeze is hovering in front of her trying to comfort her. “Don’t let him bother you, Nax, Red’s ghost told me that he is terrible with all the females.”

“Your ghost is right.” The  exo hunter says, getting closer, watching her rubbing her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. He leans on the railing next to her. 

Nax gives him a forced smile. “Hey Cayde, what are you doing here?” 

Playing along, he shrugs his shoulders and looks up at the traveler as well. “I was heading home, and I notice you here sitting on the railing. Is there anything wrong?”

“Wrong? Nothing is wrong.” She forces her voice to be happy and chipper.

“Nax,” His voice warm as he notices the strain in her voice. “I was at the bar tonight, and I overhead everything that happens.” The response he gets from her is her body stiffening up, as she tries not to show  him she was not hurt by what happened. He chose not to press it, seeing her reaction and continue. “Well, don’t worry about him. His Vanguard already dual out his punishment.” 

Nax turns to Cayde, looking a bit confuse and surprise. “I don’t think he needed punishment.”

“Of course, he did, he shouldn’t treat a woman as something to conquest.”

“What did you do?” The blue awoken, ask a bit surprised.

“I left him a vast bar tab to pay, to make sure it was a large one, I did a round of drinks for everyone at the bar.”

Imagine the look on Red’s face getting the large bill made her let out a sad chuckle. She looks back at the traveler. “Hey, Cayde?”

“Hm?” He responds, looking at her and back at the traveler as well. “What’s up?”

“Have you ever wondered if the traveler makes a mistake.”

“Oh, yes, all the time. I mean, why would the traveler reborn me? I mean, I’m reckless, careless, and sometimes a lot of stuff that I touch or mess with either break or blows up.” He uses his fingers to count off his flaws. After he finishes, he looks up at the warlock. “Have you ever wondered why?”

She nods her  head; her posture changes to a more defeated pose. “Yeah, nights like these, I wonder why a ghost was wasted on me, why I was reborn.”

Seeing the defeated posture, he can see how broken this warlock is. Nax has been shunned and most often feared by her class. Where the other half just wants something from her. He is in unknown territory for him. But luckily, her stomach did save and growls. Pushing himself off the railing, he begins to stretch. “I’m hungry, are you hungry?” He asks her.

Nax thought about it while her stomach growls again. She looks at Beeze as he stays silent and does small twirls. She looks back at Cayde; she can see the whole look on his face. “I could eat.” She said, getting off the railing and joining him.

“Great! I know a wonderful ramen shop you will love.” Exo tells her, leading the way to the marketplace set up right by the tower.

###

The smell of cook meat and noodles waft out of the open door and into the streets, the sounds of laughter mix with the sound of sizzling meat. Cayde stands in the door’s entrance and holds the curtain up to allow her to come in without ducking her head. “Try one bowl, and I guarantee that you will be hook.” He promises. 

Nax walks into the small shop. A group of hunters and titans are sitting in one of the back booths laughing and drinking as they share a large food plate. “Welcome to Spicey Ramen!” He leads her to the counter to two open seats waiting for them. “Hey, Lina!” He calls out a middle-aged human woman at the other end of the bar. 

Lina looks away from the customer she was taking orders from to see who was calling her. Seeing the  exo , she smirks. “Yeah? What do you want,  you old bucket of bolts?”

Cayde chuckles. “Two ramen specials.” He calls out, holding up two fingers as they both sit down. “Oh! And a bottle of your best sake!” He turns to who’s Nax, still in a sulky mood looking at the menu hanging on the wall. “Trust me; you have to try the special.”

Nax only nods slowly as she picked the wood counter.

“Hey, don’t let Red or Fin get to you; they’re dumb asses.” He tells her as Lina places down two sake cups and a bottle of sake. He takes the porcelain bottle, pours for each of them, and raises his cup.

Nax takes her cup as well, knowing he wants to make a toast.

“Here’s to finding out what the traveler wants from us.” He takes a sip and sees a smirk on Nax’s face and take a drink as well.

As they wait for their meal, they would drink some more sake., which loosens Nax’s lips.

She tells him how the older warlocks are  assholes , and the rookies are assholes in training.

Cayde chuckles and pure her some more, allowing her to blow off some steam, figuring she does not have anyone to let it out, so why not him?

“Another thing! Red is such a man  whore .” Feeling a nice buzz going and her cheeks begin getting redder, she looks around the room as Cayde let out a bark of laughter. She notices a small little black creature walking on the counter near a young huntress. It did not take long for her to realize the tiny creature is a kitten. A feeling of joy and excitement takes over her, and without thinking, she let out a loud squeal of delight, making Cayde almost spitting out his drink.

He watches the warlock jumps out of her chair and runs over to the young huntress he known as Eve.

Without thinking, Nax scoops up the black kitten and begins to nuzzle the meowing creature. “Who’s a cute fur baby? You are! Yes, you are, itty bitty baby.” For a moment, she is in utter bliss until she notices the female hunter watching her with a surprising look on her face. ‘Crap I did it again.’ “A, are you this baby’s momma?” She watches as the question throws the female hunter off. 

“I suppose?” Eve’s tone was more of a question than an answer.

Nax gives the kitten one last nuzzles and place it back on the counter, watching him shake his fur out. The warlock looks at the huntress recognizing her. “Are you Eve?” She asks, tilting her head a bit. The awoken tries not to smile, seeing another confused and shock look on Eve’s face. 

“I am, do I know you?”

This time the blue warlock did smile. “Nope, but I know you through Evie.” Nax gives her an apological smile and sticks out her hand towards the human hunter. “Sorry, I’m Nax.” She begins to brace herself for a  freakout .

The seconds begin to tick by as both women try to figure out what is their next move.

Eve reaches out her hand and gives a firm and quick handshake before letting go of her hand. “Nice to meet you. You know me already; I’m Eve.” She says as she grabs a paper towel  and wipes up the spilled liquid. “You said, Evie? I have met her a few times. I like her, she’s nice.”

Nax watches her takes another sip from her sake, a bit surprised that she is not freaking out like Fin. After a few more seconds, ticks by the awoken tilt her head to the side again. “You don’t know me to do you?”

Another look of confusion appears on Eve’s face. “Should I?” The human props an arm on the counter and leans on it. “I don’t socialize much. Perhaps with some of my fellow hunters and Cayde there.” She uses her other hand and points her finger to Cayde behind Nax. “But I stick with Vale and David the most. Is it bad I don’t know you?”

The blue-skin woman gives a brilliant smile. “No, no, So, the rumors only travel through warlocks, huh. It seems like your Vanguard doesn’t know either.”

“Rumors? They are always around. Vale is a warlock and the social bug of our team to know about the rumors. However, he does not believe in them as it is like judging a book by its cover. As for David? He could care less; titans do not care about rumors. Sure, they will investigate who started them, but only to shut them up. David does that when it comes to rumors about our teams, the bad ones that anyway.” Eve picks up her drink again and begins to grin into it. “It’s all quite entertaining really, and always inaccurate.

The huntress relaxes as she hears the warlock chuckles. “I usually listen to rumors with a grain of salt. It’s just,” The awoken gives a melancholy sigh. “People here freak out, thinking I’m going to attack them.” Nax watches as the huntress relaxes a bit more and letting her guard down. She claps her hands together to change the subject. “Anyway! Sorry to freak your kitty out and bug you. It has been a while since I have seen a cat or dog. Evie says I have a bad habit of bothering people with pets, and it gets worse when I’m tipsy.”

As he watches the interaction between the two from a distance, the Vanguard smiles as he takes a sip of his sake. ‘Good, I’m glad she is feeling better.’ As soon as he finishes the thought, their food arrives. “Nax!” He calls out to her and watches as both women turn and look at him. Seeing a playful grin on the hunter’s face, he knew she would cause trouble for him like the time he had to pay for her ship repairs.

“My food is ready. I’ll see you around!” She turns around and heads to her spot on the counter. Halfway through, she stops and turns around. “Oh; If one day you want to get back at your guys, there’s an area in EDZ that’s known as a huge mudslide. You could get them there and push them down. They will be cover in the mud. See  ya !” Nax turns away and hurries back to Cayde.

“What was that about?” The Exo asks as he hands her chopsticks.

“Oh um, I’ve noticed a kitten on the counter, I never see them at the tower or out on the mission, so I had gotten excited to see it.” She explains, taking the chopsticks and break them apart. She lowers her head and closes her eyes. “Thank you for this meal.” She digs in the spicy broth burning her tongue a bit, but the ramen is terrific. The warmth spread from her throat and through her body. Drinking the cold sake help soothe the spicy burn.

Cayde smiles a bit, hearing her letting out a sound of delight as she eats her meal. “I’m guessing it’s good?”

Nax nods as she slurps up another noodle. “It’s excellent, thanks for taking me out; this meal makes me feel a lot better.” 

He nods, and they eat in silences for a bit.

“Hey.” Cayde begins placing his empty bowl down. “I have a thought.”

“Hm?” The awoken, placing her empty bowl down as well.

“Why don’t you make this a thing?” He offers her.

Nax almost spits out her sake and looks at him, confused. “What do you mean? Make what a thing?”

“Going out to eat in the evening. I know tons of food shops that I am dying to show someone. Also, you have a bad habit of forgetting to eat a meal. I see this as a fair trade-off. You get me out of work at night, and you get a free meal out of it.”

Nax thinks about this proposal. ‘Eating alone does  suck, and having dinner with someone will get  Ikora and Eve off my back. But this might affect my research.’

Watching her expression change a few times, he can tell she weighs the pros and cons, so he interjects. “If you are worried about missions, we will just have dinner when you’re not on one. Just something to kill time during your rest periods.” 

Nax nods her head. “Alright, I will take you up on your offer. But if one of your  places sucks, you will have to pay the piper.”

“Oh? He smiles at her. “What do I have to pay?”

“You will,” She thinks of something he will hate. “You will have to go to the bookstore every week to buy a book.” She told him, smiling.

He thought about it. “How about if my places suck, you can pick the place, and I’ll pay whatever you want on the menu. Sounds good?” He holds his hand out to her.

Nax places her chopsticks down and shakes his hand. “Deal.”

“Great! Let us get another bottle of sake to celebrate. “He says, ordering another bottle, and once Lina places it in front of them, he pours them each a glass and holds his up for another toast. “To dinner, friends.” 

Nax chuckles and picks up her cup. “To dinner, friends, may our meals be tasty.”

“That’s the spirit!” He laughs, and as they toast, their second bowls arrive.

While they enjoy their meal, the Vanguard notices Eve paying for her dinner and stumbles out of the shop. A bit concern, he excuses himself to get some fresh air and watches as she struggles home. “Hey, Ace calls Zavala.”

“At this hour? He might be asleep, Cayde.” His ghost tells him.

“Call it a hunch, but I think he is still in the hall.”

“Alright.” Ace sighs as it begins to call him. It did not take long to hear the commander’s booming voice.

“Cayde? What is it? What’s wrong?” The titan’s tone sound worried.

“Hey, big blue, so listens, I’m at this ramen shop, and I happen to order too much take out, so of course I can’t carry it all the way home by myself. I would have my ghost help me, but I remember the last time I did that, and you gave me a lecture on how my ghost is not a bag. So, I need your help carrying them.”

There is silence on the other end of the call, and the Exo wonder if the awoken hung upon him. But Zavala answers back by giving an irritated sigh. “Alright, send me your location.”

“Thanks, buddy.” Cayde has Ace send the location to a ramen shop on the same street as Eve is going back home. Finishing his call, he heads back inside to rejoin the warlock. Arriving back, he notices there is a plate of fried dumplings. “What’s that?”

“Oh, I saw them on the special, and I want to try some fried dumplings.” She looks to him and realizes she might be pushing it. “Sorry, I’ll pay for it.” She says, reaching for her glimmer. 

He reaches over and takes one of the dumplings. “Don’t be their good, and don’t worry, I’ll pay for them.” He sits back down and finishes his bowl and taking a few more dumplings.

After an hour or two, they both finish three more bowls of spicy ramens, two more appetizers, and six bottles of sake.

By now, Nax begins to become tipsy and sways a bit on her stool.

Seeing this the  exo decided it is time to call it a night. He pays the bill and helps the warlock off the stool. As they leave, he can see her stumbling Cayde knows; there is no way she can walk home even with help. “Hey, Nax?”

“Hm?” She responds, stumbling a bit. 

“You live in the tower, right?”

“Yeah, I live there,” She answers leaning on him.

“Great, what’s your room number?”

“Hm, why do you want to know? Do you want to,”

He suddenly stops her placing a finger on her lips, “No, no, little warlock just wants to take you home to sleep this off. Now room number, please.” 

“Hm, twenty-four-eleven.” She grumbles through his finger.

“Okay, little warlock time for a piggyback ride.” He crouches down in front of her to allow her to climb on his back with ease.

Watching Cayde crouch down, the inebriate warlock  climb on his back and warp her arm loosely around his neck. “I’m not too heavy, am I?”

“Nah, as an  exo , I can carry anything with ease.” He begins to head back to the tower with a warlock falling asleep on his back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyes Up Guardian!
> 
> Thanks for being patient here is Chapter 6!

**Chapter 6**

Nax wakes up the next morning, staring up at the white ceiling before she sits up in her nest. In the living room. Frowning, she rubs her head's back,  trying to  figure out how she has gotten home. The last thing she remembers is going to the bar with Red playing a few games and drinking a lot.

She groans as a headache begins to pound in her head.  Then Red ruin the night by trying to sleep with her. She makes a mental note to get back at him for that. A memory  surface from her foggy brain; after Red , she left the bar , but  what happened after leaving? 'I was sitting on the railing, feeling sorry for myself. Then,' " Cayde show up. He took me out to eat, and I drink more than everything gotten fuzzy from that." She looks around the living room looking for her ghost. " Beeze ?" She calls out then wince from the pain. 

Her ghost comes into the room. "Good morning, Nax," He announces happily and loudly.   


The awoken wince s again and close her eyes and wave at her ghost to be quiet. “Shh, quiet voice  Beeze .” She slowly crawls out of her blanket nest and uses the couch to help her get to her feet.

Beeze hovers in front of her, his plates spinning. “Does my guardian have a hangover?”

“ Noo ,  Beeze , I always feel this sick in the morning. It has nothing to do with the drinking last night. 

"Would you like me to heal you,  Nax ?" He asks, trying not to laugh at her. 

"No, I would love to curl up in a ball all day, questioning my life choices." She growls, swaying a bit on her feet; a feeling of nausea hit her, and she quickly sits down on the couch.    


"Alright, then. I'll go ahead and make you breakfast." He begins to float away. "I'm thinking gooey sunny side up eggs for you today."

The thought of food ma kes her stomach flip and bile begin to rise.  Nax stumbles to the bathroom, not bothering turning on the  lights or closing the door.

Beeze , hearing her retching in the bathroom, he drifts over to the bathroom door, feeling bad for teasing her. "Are you okay?"

She wipes her mouth and flushes the toilet; she glares at him. "I hate you." She groans, getting up and going to the sink, grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste. 

"You only hate me when I tease you., here," He flies above her and bathes her in the traveler's light. 

The awoken let out a sigh of relief as nausea, headache, and sensitivity to light gone. "Much better, thank you,  Beeze ." She looks over to her floating friend before she turns around and begins to brush her teeth, "How did I get home last night?"

"Oh, that's easy to  answer .  Cayde 6 brought you home. You  were  passed out when he brought you home. He just places you in your nest and then  left ." 

She spits in the sink and throws her head back and let out a groan. "Great, I bet he ’s running to  Ikora and tell her how drunk I'd gotten. I'll be stuck here forever." She opens the medicine cabinet and put her toothbrush and toothpaste away. 

"I don't see him doing that, also; why would she punish you for having a good time. She did tell you to relax and make a few friends."   


“Yes, but I hang out and drink with a vanguard. That’s going to ruin my plans.”

"You mean your research? I don't see how; it seems like he want ed to have fun , not nosing in other people's business."

“But what if he comes over and hangs out and comes across my notes? Ugh! Why did I go out and drink? I cannot remember what happened. What did I say yes to?" 

“ Cayde 6 said you agree to have dinner with him while you ’re on R&R .” 

"Oh, no." She groans, lowering her head. "Why Drunk  Nax ? Why did you agree to that?" She asks herself as she lays her forehead against the bathroom mirror.” 

Watching her groan and regret her choices, the ghost speaks up. “May I suggest something?”

"What?" She turns her head towards him.

“Why don’t you just have dinner with him? I mean, you already agree to do it; and there's no harm in having a free meal."

“Red was a free meal and looked what happen."

“Do you think he's like Red?  Nax , he took you out to dinner and brought you home and done nothing. Besides, his ghost tells me he's far from Red."

"Fucking Red, He's probably already spreading the rumor of me wanting to sleep in Zavala's bed. Fuck, what if Zavala hears about this? I'm screwed."    


"Before you start spiraling out of control, how about you  take a deep breath and think."  He waits  for her to take a  deep breath  before he continues. “When have you ever see or hear Zavala listen to rumors.”

“None” She closes the toilet seat lid and sits down. The commander usually scolds the people who spread those rumors." 

"See? Cayde’s ghost tells me that he is far from Red because he threatens Red and his friends. He told them that they would be sorry if he finds out that they pull this trick again. I don't think Red will be going around talking about what happened last night."    


Nax places her head in her hands and stays quiet, trying to think if she said something to him last night.   


“ Nax ?”  Beeze moves closer to her. "Are you still feeling sick?"

She looks at him. "Did I said or did anything stupid last night?"   


"You mean when he brought you home?" He watches her nod slowly. "No,  as  I said before, you were past out when you two arrive here . I just showed him where to put you. After p lace you on the pile of blankets, he asks if you sleep out here, and I said yes."

"Did he wonder around the apartment?" She asks, watching her ghost's plate twirl as he thinks.

“No, he just lay you down, make sure you’re okay and settle in for the night, then he just left.”

She sighs out of relief, glad that she did not act like a fool and run her mouth, and  Cayde did not wander around her apartment. "Alright," she sighs and looks up at her ghost. "What's on today's agenda?"

Beeze ,  twirl the other way as he thinks  what is going on today. “You have nothing going on today.”

She nods and gets off the toilet. "Great, I can relax all day while hiding in my apartment .  I've meant to,"

"But, you have dinner at six pm."  Beeze interrupts her. 

Nax stops and turns back to  Beeze . "Six? Why do I have dinner at six?"

“You made that deal with  Cayde , remember? You agree when he gets off from work, He gets off at six pm today.” 

“How do you know about this?”

“ Cayde’s Ghost told me,"  Beeze tells her  in an informative.

“I guess there’s no way I can get out of it?”

“Unless you want to attend Zavala lecture on the importance of gun maintenance.”

"Well then," She turns to the shower and begins to turn it on. "I better jump in the shower and get as  much reading as I can before six." She undresses and jumps in the shower.

Beeze begins to float out of the bathroom. "I'll make you breakfast and remind you to be ready around five-thirty.” 

"Thank you,  Beeze ."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cayde walks in the meeting hall giving h is  loud and happy greeting to his  fireteam . "Good Morning, everyone."

The  awoken looks up from his tablet seeing the  exo . “ Cayde , a word.”

The hunter looks towards him, a report in his hand. "Sure, what's up, big guy."

“I want to say I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you last night. I came across a guardian that needed help.”

“Oh, that's okay big blue, no worries."  Cayde assures him, "Were you able to help the guardian?"

"Yes, I was able to see her home," Zavala t ells him.

Ikora looks up from her book and at her fire team. “What’s this?” She looks at Cayde. “Cayde, why did you call Zavala last night." She asks, concern. "Is everything okay?"   


"Yeah, it wasn't dire, I just order too much ramen and needed help carrying it home,"  Cayde explains.

"Yes, and on my way to help him, I came across a guardian that needed help getting home." Zavala agrees with him.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Ikora asks, a bit confuse.   


A little surprise by the tone he explains. "I was, but I came across one of your guardians. Anyway, about the guardian, you helped home. Are they okay?" He looks over to Zavala.

"Yes, though I think you will need to check on her."

"Check on her? Why do I need to check on her?" He asks, tilting his head. Though he already knows the reason, he wants to continue his little game.    


"She  is  one of your hunters; I think her name is Faye."

"Alright," He nods his head. "Is there anything I should be worried about?" 

"No, though I don't think it's my place to tell you." Their commander says, going back to his tablet. 

"Alright, no worries, I'll check up on her later this week,"  Cayde assures him, 

“ Cayde ,”  Ikora calls for his attention. 

“Hm?” The  exo turns to the warlock.

“You said one of my guardians helped you? I hope you didn’t rope them into helping.”

“You can ask them yourself. She's coming over here so I can treat her to dinner as a thank you." He tells her his plates, moving into a smile.

The warlock raises a brow. "If you're repaying the guardian for helping you. Then I don't have to worry about you taking advantage of her."

“Of course-”  Cayde begins to speak.

“But I just hope you’re not using her as an excuse to leave work early.” The awoken interrupts him. 

Looking a bit shock, the hunter look at them both in disbelief. “Have I ever done that?” He asks.

"Yes," They both say in unison.

"You know that hurts, you two. I thought we were friends."

Ikora and Zavala both roll their eyes as more guardians begin to enter.

#######

As six o'clock comes around,  Cayde looks up from his map to send another hunter to a zone; he sees the awoken warlock standing at the top of the stairs, hesitating to come down. "Hey,  Nax !" He calls out to her happy and gives a wave. "I'm just finishing up mind waiting for a minute or two?”

Nax nods  and  quickly turns and heads over to Lord  Shaxx to talk about the upcoming crucible matches while she waits. 'It's fine; no one is looking at you.'

Watching  Nax leave,  Ikora turns to him. “ Nax ? ” She asks surprise .

Cayde looks at  Ikora . “Yes? Is there a problem?”

Ikora simply smile s as she shakes her head. "No, no problem at all. I hope you two have a good time. ”

Cayde quickly finishes his report and joining  Nax and  Shaxx , catching the end of the conversation.

“ Nax , I still think you should join the  crucible these coming matches .  Show these rookies what it's like to put up a fight!”

The awoken let out a light chuckle. "Maybe, last time you had me join, the rookies were terrified and wouldn't join for a week."   


“Hm,”  Shaxx crosses his arms and nods. "That is true, but." He notices  Cayde approach them. “ Cayde 6 already finish for the day?” 

"Yeah, just finish. Are you trying to recruit our  Nax here?” He gave a wink to the awoken. 

"I am, but Lady Nax here is tough to convince; maybe you can talk her into it?" His voice hopeful   


The hunter puts his hands in his pockets and gives a light shrug. "I can see what I can do, buddy. But I can only do so much." He turns to  Na x . "You ready to go, guardian?”

“Yup.” As both her and  Cayde begin to leave, she waves goodbye to the titan. "See ya later,  Shaxx .”

"Until next time, guardian!” He calls out to her and waves at them both. 

Cayde and  Nax give him one more wave goodbye and left the Hall of Heroes,

“So, what did you guys talk about?”  Cayde asks, turning to her noticing  she is dress in a new set of civilian clothes., black jeans, tennis shoes, and a grey zip-up hoodie.

“Well, at first I wanted to know what kind of playing field  Shaxx is planning for the upcoming crucible games,”

"How come? Are you planning to join? That will make his day." He chuckles and waves to Banshee.

Nax laughs lightly. "No, if Evie comes back in time, I want to make a few bets with her. She usually wins them, so I thought, if I know, the layout can help my chances."   


“Doesn’t that consider cheating?" He asks, raising a brow.

“Not really, Evie knows the players better than me. So, I consider it an evening the playing field."

"Well, if she doesn't come back in time, I'll be happy to place a bet with you." he offered as he takes them through the streets. 

"I'll consider it,"  Nax tells him with a slight smirk following him to another small ramen shop.

Because it is still early in the evening, the shop is almost empty. The shop's back is a small group of hunters and titans figuring out what to order and who buys whom.    


Nax looks around the small narrow dining area. Cayde walks over to the bar, sits on one of the stools, and waits to join him. Luckily, she  did not take long to realize he is waiting for her. She quickly sits at the bar as a young awoken approach the two.

“Hey  Cayde , what can I get ya?" He asks, pulling out a pen and a small note pad.

The  exo hunter turns to his warlock companion. “Is there anything you’re in the mood for.” 

The young woman shrugs and shakes her head. "You've been here more then I, so I'm going to let you order."

He smiles and rubs his hands. “Alright, leave it to me.” He turns to their server and holds up two fingers. “Two bowls of your pork specials, and two orders of  Takoyaki .”

Nodding his head, the waiter writes down their orders and disappear in the kitchen.

“Oh!”  Cayde exclaims, realizing he forgot something. "Thomas! A bottle of sake too!"

"You got it!" Thomas calls out from the back. 

Please,  Cayde , did a quick tap and turn to  Nax . "This place has the best pork ramen, and the  Takoyaki is to kill for.” 

Nax nods absentmindedly, picking at a gash on the bar.    


“ Nax ?”  Cayde calls out to her, noticing  she has been quiet.

“Hm?” She turns to him and sees a slight concern on his face. “Sorry, I was lost in thought . 

"No worries," He assures her. "I was  just saying you should tell me what you like to eat, so that way I can take you to places that serve them.

"Well, I like beef, chicken is okay as well, but anything is fine. I don't want you to go out of your way."  Nax says, unsure.

"It's not out of my way; really, I know it sucks being trap in the tower."

The awoken nods. “I’m sorry, I’m not a very good dinner guest, I’m just,”

“Embarrassed about what happen last night?”  Cayde asks but surprises seeing her shaking her head.

"It's not just that. I'm sure you heard the rumors," Nax sighs.   


"I heard there are rumors, but I haven't heard what they are. Do you mind telling me what they are?”

“No, I’m sorry I prefer not to help spread them, I know I’m not making sense, but I just wasn’t sure if you.” She continues to ramble.

“ Nax ," He places his hand over hers to stop her. "I'm not Red; believe me, I'm far from that asshole. I just figure you and I can keep each other company while  we are both stuck in the tower together. That's it; I'm not looking to get something out of it except company while we have dinner.”

Nax looks at his hand and  up to  him. "Just dinner?"

“Just dinner.” He assures her.

Her shoulder relaxes as she let out a sigh. "Alright, also sorry you had to carry me home."

"Don't be; it has been a while since I give someone piggyback. It was fun." He chuckles and takes the water pitcher Thomas left in front of them. "Besides, with you, I just had to carry you home. With the others, they were a lot rowdier." He holds out a glass of water to her.

“I bet.” She takes it and takes a sip noticing there is a hint of lemon.

"But I have to say I'm impressed with your pile of blankets in the living room.”

Nax almost spits out her water as Thomas returns with a bottle of sake and a Takoyaki plate.   


Cayde laughs a little bit. "I mean, you made it look cozy like a nest. Thanks, Thomas.” He pours the sake in two cups giving her one and grabbing a  Takoyaki for himself. “Though I don’t know why you have it set up in your living room. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable in your bedroom?”

The blue warlock picks her up and takes a sip realizing its chilled this time.

"The bedroom is too small and brings up bad memories too much, so it's hard to relax."

"Bad memories, huh? Did something happen in there?" He asks

Nax ignores the question. “Have you ever tried Indian?”

He notices the change of subject and let his question go and takes a sip from his cup. "I haven't, but I heard it's pretty good. Have you tried it?"   


"I have a few times if it's alright to take a break from ramen."

Cayde laughs as he takes one of the golden balls from the skews. “Only the second day and already sick and tired of ramen?”

She shakes her head as she takes a skew herself. “No, it’s not that. I just thought.”

"Relax, warlock; I'm just messing with you. If you have a place in mind, we can head over there tomorrow. Besides, if you let me pick the locations all the time, I promise you will get sick of Ramen.    


"Hey,  Cayde ,” Sh e asks.

"Hm?" He asks, popping another  Takoyaki in his mouth. “What’s up.”

"Why are you a vanguard if you hate being trap in the tower?"

“Because of a bet?”

“A bet?”  Nax raises a brow .  "How can a bet make you Vanguard?"

“I lost a bet, so I end up as the Vanguard.”

“It seems like you have a bad track record with bets. Maybe I should take up on your offer on making bets with you.” She teases him.

"Hey, now, I don't lose all my best."

"Hm, maybe not. I guess I have to take a chance and make a bet with you." She smiles.   


Cayde smiles back; he wants to tell her she looks good with a smile but feels right now  is not a good time .

Thomas came back with their pork ramen setting it in front of them. "Here ya go, enjoy you two."    


"Alright, if this doesn't wow you, nothing will,"  Cayde says, giving her chopsticks. He breaks apart and begins to dig in. 

Nax looks at the steaming bowl, and her stomach growls by the smell. But before she digs in, she turns to  Cayde , watching him scarf down his meal. "Is this a pity meal? Because if it is, you  do not need to do it. I'm fine." She assures him.

Cayde places his bowl down to get himself a drink. "Unless you're having dinner with me out of pity. Hurry up before your food gets cold." He tells her to go back to his meal.    


She turns back to her meal, and as she pulls her chopsticks apart, her mouth water; as the smell of pork broth waft up to her nose, her stomach begins to growl. She quickly picks up a large piece of pork and places it in her mouth. This time, the pork was not spicy like the meal last night but savior with a sweet hint. As she chews, she notices it is very tender. She closed her eyes and savored the flavor. After she finishes, she picks up the bowl and takes a broth sip, allowing the warmth to spread through her body.    


The Hunter exo watches the awoken enjoying the meal and begins to relax before he goes back to his dinner and enjoys it.    


As the night grew late, both had finish three bowls of pork ramen, two  Takoyaki orders, and two bottles of sake. But because  Nax wants to remember what happens the next day, she lets  Cayde drink most of it. 

After the hunter pays the bill, they both walk out of the small shop just in time as a crowd of warlock arrives for the evening special. One of the  newcomers notices her, and as he tries to get his companion's attention,  Nax hurries  Cayde out.

The night's cold air is a welcome relief from coming out of the overly warm ramen shop. Unzipping her hoodie, s howing a faded blue t-shirt. 

Seeing her trying to cool down,  Cayde chuckles. “A bit warm?”

"A little, but the cool air is helping." She looks over to him and tilting her head a bit. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

“Yes, I’m that great.” He barks out a laugh as she punches him on the shoulder.

“Seriously, can I ask you one?"

"Sure, sure, shoot."

“Do  exos get hot or cold?"

“Like do we feel it. Or does our bodies react to it?” He asks a bit curious; not a bit surprised, a warlock asks him that.

“Both?” Naxdid not think they would feel it, but if he offers to tell her, she will not pass up the chance.   


"Well, I don't remember my human body, so I can't compare, but I do feel it, just it seems I'm more tolerant to temperatures then you flesh bags." He teases. "For heating up, well, I am a machine, so a cooling system prevents me from overheating. I think, sorry I'm not informative."   


“Didn't they tell you?" She asks surprise; no one t old the  exo how his body works.

"Well, I was created before The Collapse, and like most guardians,"   


“You were revived with no memory by your ghost.” The warlock nods understanding. 

“Speaking of ghosts.” He does a quick scan as they walk down the streets.

“ Beeze doesn't need to follow me all the time; he figures he can trust me enough to go on my own with you." She smirks. "I guess he figures you can keep me out of trouble."

"I think he's the only one that trusts me enough to keep someone out of trouble. I'm kind of touch."

“I’m sure  Ikora and Zavala. If not, then they wouldn’t have you on their  fireteam .”

Cayde bark out a laugh. “They don’t trust me in a million years. Zavala doesn't trust me as far as he can throw me, and he can throw me far."

She covers her mouth to muffle her giggl ing as she images Zavala throwing  Cayde across the courtyard. “What about  Ikora ? I’m sure she trusts you.”

He lets out a sigh, “ Ikora is a warlock.”

“Okay, what’s wrong with warlocks? Besides thinking you’re smarter than everyone.”

Cayde throws his head back and lets out a groan. "Please tell me you don't think like that. It will be a shame thinking I had dinner with someone that thinks they're better than me."

Nax shakes her head. “No, thinking like that hurts my head. That’s why I don’t  spend time together with other warlocks.”

"Their loss, I mean, I only had two meals with you, but I can tell you're fun. Oh! Hey, look!" He yells, pointing at a shave ice stand. "Oh man, it has been a while since I had shave ice.  Nax , do you want some?"

Nax raises a brow and glances over to the stand. "I never had shave ice, is it good?"

The hunter jaw drops in disbelief. “You never had it? You must be joking, right?" He groans again, watching her shakes her head. "You're  missing something wonderful. That's it; it's settled."  Cayde grabs her hand and leads her towards the stand stopping in front of it. 

An older human woman that runs the stand sees the two approach and stands up to greet them. “What can I get for you two?” She asks with a heavy Irish accent.

Cayde begins to order his as  Nax looks at the list of flavors written on the small chalkboard. She is stuck between lemon or raspberry flavor .  After he finishes his order, he turns to  Nax to let her order but sees she is not paying attention. 

"Hey,  Nax ." Still not responding, he waves his hand in front of her face. " Hellloooo Naaaxx .” 

She reaches out and grabs his waving his hand. “Yes? What is it? I was looking at the list.”

Taking his hand back, he gives a huff. "It's your turn to order; which flavor do you want?"    


Slightly embarrassed, she gives a small shrug. "I don't know; I'm stuck on two flavors."   


He grins. "Lucky for you, I tried all these flavors, five times over. I can tell you which ones are worth your time."

Nax smirks and crosses her arms over her chest. "Now, are you saying you're a connoisseur of snowball flavors?"

"My dear, I am a connoisseur of any type of food selling around the tower. Anyway, what flavors are you having trouble with?” He looks over the list of flavors. 

“I can’t decide whether to choose raspberry or lemon.”

“Hm, why don’t you get both?” He suggests. “Wanda here can mix up to three flavors.”

“Three?” She raises a brow. “Why three?”

“Because any more and you'll ruin it.," Wanda answers, giving  Cayde a look. 

Cayde laughs. "Yes, well, can't you blame me? I try all of them and all the various combinations. You  cannot blame an  exo for trying more flavors. I mean, I want to take a walk on the wild side. Anyway." He turns back to  Nax . "You want to try them both?"

She nods. "Alright, sounds good, but if it's gross, you're going to pay for it." She tells him jokingly and playfully poke his chest

Wanda nods and starts the machine and starts putting a large chunk of ice in it.  Cayde stands next to  Nax as she watches the machine with interest. 

"So," He brings her attention away from the machine. "I'm going to pay if the flavor is gross, uh?"

“Yup, you will have to pay.”

“How will I pay?” He cocks his head.

The awoken looks up towards the sky, seeing a strip of it between the buildings. "Let's see the payment will be," Nax turns to him, her eyes filled with mischief. "You have to wear warlock's garb; it shouldn't be hard since you love them so much. Do we have a deal?"    


Cayde looks  at  her in disbelief. “What will I get if you like it then?”

"I guess the satisfaction of knowing you have opened the world to be a bit more." 

“Wait a minute; that's not fair." Cayde whines. "Why would I be punished, but not you?"   


“Because you talk me into trying it.” She points out watching Wanda scoop the shave ice into a cup and pour the syrups on top.  Handing both  them to  Na x ,  she put his cup in his hand and pay for it, since he already paid for dinner. 

"Thanks, Wanda; see ya later." Cayde wave goodbye as both of them walks down the street. He looks over towards his companion as she takes the plastic spoon and scoops the right amount of it orange shave ice, placing it in her mouth.    


The mixture of the sweet raspberry and tart lemon feels refreshing after their savory meal. Nax closes her eyes, enjoying the cold liquid running down her throat.   


“Well?” The  exo asks, waiting anxiously, waiting for a response. 

Opening her eyes, she looks over to  Cayde and gives him a half a shrug and an unimpressed expression. “It’s okay, I guess." She walks away from him, and his stun face; a smile played across her face when he heard him yell.

“Oh, come on!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyes Up Guardian! 
> 
> Thanks so much for waiting here is Chapter 7!

**Chapter 7**

For the past few weeks, the evening dinners became a daily routine. Nax would pass her time reading or helping Amanda on repairing bikes and ships. Around six, she will meet Cayde outside of the Hall of Heroes before heading to the restaurant that Cayde would rave about the night before. Sometimes Nax will admit the food would be good. But other times, she will put on a fake unimpressed look on her face to see the disbelief look on his face.

One-night, Cayde turns towards Nax as she's slurping up a noodle. "Hey, Nax?"

"Hm?" She turns to him, chewing on a slurp noodle, with a quick swallow, she reaches for her drink. "Yes, Cayde? What's up?"

"Well, I have the day off tomorrow and," He stops seeing a confused look on her face. "What's wrong?"

Nax shakes her head. "Nothing, I'm just surprise hearing about a day off. I thought Vanguards doesn't have day-offs."

The exo chuckles a little, the orange light flashing a little bit at the back of his throat. "Yeah, well, we do get days off. We just use them differently. But anyway, thanks to you, I was able to work enough to gain a day off. So, I was thinking,"

Nax's brow knit together. "Thanks to me? How is it, thanks to me? We just have dinner together; it's not like I help you on missions or paperwork."

"Well," He drags out the word as he rubs the back of his neck, wondering why he finds it hard to tell her this. "Since I needed to kill time before dinner, I found out if I do work, it makes time goes by faster." He confesses to her, watching Nax's blue cheeks turn a pale purple before looking away from each other.

Nax clears her throat, waiting for the warm feeling in her cheeks to subsides. "So," Her voice cracks a little, so she clears her throat. What are you planning to do on your day off? Are you going to try to sneak out of the Tower?" She jokes, trying to ease the tension a bit.

"Ah, well, I was wondering if you want to go to the outer part of the city, District Seven."

"District Seven? Why there?"

"I heard they are holding a festival there. I thought it would be fun. They will have games, shows, and of course, food, So I thought,"

As Cayde continues, he begins to sound far away to Nax, as she hears her heart thump in her ears. Before she could realize she answer him with a stern no.

"Oh, well, why not?" Cayde asks, trying not to sound hurt.

"Why? Well, um, I will be busy tomorrow. I promise Amanda I would help her fix a few bikes." She tells him.

"You are? But I thought you said last week you guys gotten them all done."

"We did," Nax looks away for a few minutes. "It's just before I head out tonight, Amanda call me asking me to come over tomorrow to help her. I'm sorry, Cayde." The awoken says, watching crestfallen appearing on his face making her feel horrible for lying to him. 

"No worries." He tries not the sound disappointed as he turns back to his meal. "Maybe another time."

She nods and turns back to her meal as she opens her hand to adjust the chopsticks, only to notice that the chopsticks broke in half. She was carefully putting them aside, making sure Cayde didn't see it, as she reaches for a new set of chopsticks and goes back to her meal.

#####################

"You ask Nax to the festival? What were you thinking?" Amanda asks, taking her shot.

"I thought it would be more fun and a different change of pace since we only go out at night when I get off work. I didn't think she would turn me down that coldly and fast." The hunter says, nursing his beer. After their awkward dinner, he didn't want to go home right away, so he calls the only person that will still be willing to meet him this late at night if he was paying, of course. Amanda is that friend. 

Amanda orders another shot and a chaser. "So, did she tell you why she couldn't go?" she asks, watching her friend crying in his beer.

"She said you needed help repairing bikes that arrive last minute, and that's why she couldn't come tomorrow." He informs her.

After thanking the robot bartender, Amanda turns to Cayde, confuse. "What bikes?"

"I thought so," Cayde sighs, "She lied to me." He says, sounding a bit sad.

"I mean, she only did a little." The blond-haired person begins to explain. "Before you call me, Nax called me, asking if I have anything for her to do tomorrow. I was a bit surprised, and when I asked why she couldn't give me a reason, she just asked me if I had anything for her. Now I see why she asked unexpectedly. She takes her shot and twists the cap of her beer off. Seeing the hurt and confusion on his face still, Amanda places a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Cayde, don't take it personally."

In a sudden quick motion, Cayde grabs his beer and chugs half of it before putting it down. Though the beer is supposed to be great here, it tastes flat to him tonight. "How can I not take it personally. She made up an excuse not to hang out with me for more than a few hours. I bet she only sees me as a free meal. Ugh! I got con again, and this time it's by a warlock.

The mechanic is surprised how upset he is with someone making an excuse not to hang out with him. She lets out a long slow sigh and orders him another beer. 'Sorry, Nax, but if you didn't want me to involve, you shouldn't use me as part of your excuse.' "I'm assuming she didn't tell you, did she?"

She looks at his human friend with an annoyed look. "I told you what she told me, what else is there to tell? She doesn't want to hang with me, and she's,"

"Not that." She says, shaking her head. "Geeze, Nax is going to kill me." Amanda says under her breath before looking back at Cayde, "Nax hates crowds; actually, she's scared of crowds."

The exo raise a plate brow, "What? No, she's not. If she's scared of crowds, how was she okay going on the train, or entering those small food shops each night?"

"Tell me, on the train, what was she doing?" The blond-haired person asks.

Cayde thinks for a moment, trying to remember. "On the train, on the ride down, she would read her book until I have gotten her to talk, on the way back, she just read her book."

"What about the small food shops? Was she close to you?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, the shops are small." Cayde shrugs.

"I mean oddly too close."

Cayde pauses and thinks. 'Was Nax too close to me? I mean, she was almost holding my arm when we leave, but that could be because she could be a little drunk. But after the first night, she has been pacing herself.' "We just talk and drink."

She points her finger at him. "Those are her coping habits. She does them to distracts herself. It helps her not of the fact she's in a crowd of people. If she doesn't keep herself distracted, she gets," The blonde mechanic pauses trying to think about the right word. "Squirrely? She goes into a panic and becomes hyperaware of her surroundings." She tells him, taking a sip of her beer.

The hunter vanguard looks at his friend's stun and feeling a bit ashamed that he didn't notice, the whole time they have been having dinner together, how come he didn't see any of this until Amanda mention it. Here he is whining about how she cons him and only uses him for a free meal. But she never objects or demands a specific place to eat, or even order anything expensive. She enters any small shop saying not a word. "How did I not notice this? I'm a hunter for Traveler's sake." He speaks mostly to himself as he places his elbows on the bar and holds his head.

"Hey Cayde, don't beat yourself up. She hides it well. Unless she tells you, you wouldn't know."

"How did she tell you? How did you find out?"

"She didn't tell me. I found out myself."

Removing his head from his hands and looks at her. "Wait, you found out yourself how?"

"Well, I found out when she was a newbie. I was out and about getting some supplies, and I run into her. Well, I found her. She was alone cowering in a small cover; her eyes fill in panic and scared. She looks like a scared little mouse. She gotten separated from Evie, and Nax didn't know how to get home from the train station." Amanda chuckles sadly. "Poor thing clung to me the whole way back."

The thought of Nax looking like a scared and terrified child, trying to make herself small while no one bothers to help, made his circuits, as he let out a groan and lowers his head onto the bar, his horn hitting the wood bar. "I'm such an asshole; I drag her to all those tight cramp places almost fill to the brim of people."

The human smirks behind her bottle as she pats him on his back for comfort. "It's not your fault; she didn't tell you. Truthfully, she's not proud of it." She tries to assure him he is not an asshole.

Nodding, he lifts his head, reaching for his beer. "Amanda, do you," He swallows hard. "Do you know what happens to be before Evie found her?"

"I do, but why do you want to know? Why is it a big deal?" She asks.

"Because something must have happened that created feral rumors. I'm also," Cayde pauses, trying to figure out what to say. "I'm worried about Nax. The first night I brought her that first night, I notice her apartment is bare. Her ghost told me she only sleeps in the living room, with a blanket pile instead of her perfectly good bed in her bedroom."

"Did you ask her?"

"When I ask her, she just says she did not like sleeping in her bedroom; it brings up bad memories. But her place, it is cold, Nax doesn't have anything personal in her place. It's just bare like if she's gone tomorrow, all you have to do is put all her things into a small box, and that's it."

Amanda can tell Cayde is worry about the awoken warlock, but there is only so much she can say to him. "Cayde, I would love to tell you, hell, it would make it a lot easier for the both of you. But I cannot break her trust as much as I already did. Nax has many skeletons in her closet, and that can take a while for her to clear them out. You just need to wait; I know that is not your strong suit. But when she does, that is going to be a huge step for her. Just do not rush her; if you do, she's going to close off, and that's it. No matter how many meals you guys have."

"I'm trying not to rush her, but things like her making up an excuse instead of telling what's bugging her, makes me wonder are we even getting close."

The blonde human tilts her head. "Why would you two be that close? Besides meals, what else do you guys do or talk about while having dinner? Have you told you anything about you besides the food you like? Have you asked what she likes to do for fun?"

"No, but why do I need to put in the effort instead of telling me to open up? Why don't you tell her to do it? I was the one that reaches out to her and offers to take her out to dinner. Far as I know besides putting up with the crowded shops, she doesn't put much effort into this either."

"Then stop, if it is a big hassle, then just tell her the dinners are over, that you have other stuff to do. There is no shame of walking away from this. I'm sure Nax wouldn't be too upset if you do that.

The exo finishes his beer and put the glass down with a thump. "Are you saying Nax doesn't care whether or not I just give her the cold shoulder or not?"

"No, no, you idiot," she sighs, facepalming. "Put yourself in her shoes; your comrades turn their back on you; the people you respect fear you, just because of those stupid rumors. The only few that reach out to be friends with you only want to use in some way for bragging rights to befriend or sleeping with the feral warlock. Not to mention some of them want to pick a fight with you, just to be known as the one that fought the feral and live. I'm sure you want to be more cautious with people that you barely interact with the approach you."

"Your right," Cayde grumbles as he remembers the night when Red was talking to his friend about how close he was with trying to sleep with Nax; of course, she will be close off to anyone being kind of her. Especially from him, he never talks or interacts with only a few days, approaches her, and took her out eating and drinking. The memory of drunk Nax, asking him if just wanted to take her home to sleep with her, make his grip the mug tight. Someone took advantage of her in that way. Did they just end it after that night, or did they prolong it?

A light clink breaks his train of thought, and as he looks down at his hand, he can see a small crack running up the glass mug he was holding. 'Nax's chopsticks were broken too.' He gets up and takes out enough glimmer to pay both of their tabs and the crack mug. "hey Amanda?"

"Hm?"

"Could you do me a favor."

"Depending what it is, I'm putting my foot down on agreeing on things before I know what it is," she tells him, taking a drink.

Cayde nods. "Fair enough, next time Nax asks you to give her something to do so that she can decline, can you tell her no?"

Amanda raises a brow in curious about what he is planning. "Sure? Do you have something plan?"

'Not yet, but I have a few ideas." He begins to head out. "Thanks, Amanda"

A smile plays on her lips. "I wish you the best."

###########

Dress in civil clothes the next day, Nax walks into the hanger looking for Amanda and finding her sitting at her workbench. "Hey, Amanda!" The blue warlock calls out to the human mechanic. 

The blond-haired woman looks up from her work and gets up to greets the guardian. "Hey, Nax." She says, walking over to her. "I should hit you for what you did to Cayde last night. What the hell, Nax?"

"I know." Nax sighs as she slowly follows Amanda back to her workbench and sits down on one of the stools. "It's just the invite to the festival surprise me as he told me what would happen at the festival. I begin thinking of the crowds and how many people will be there. Before I realize it, I told him no. When he asks why I panic and made up an excuse." The awoken explains to Amanda. Nax lowers her head. "I'm sorry, I put you in a rough spot. I didn't realize he would call you."

The human crosses her arms. "You know you could avoid all this if you just tell him that crowds make you uneasy." The mechanic tells the young guardian. As she sits down at her workbench and works on a small machine. "well, I have some good news and bad news today. The bad news is I don't have anything for you to fix. But the good news is that I have gotten permission from Ikora to send you to Earth together some parts and supplies for me."

As soon as she heard going to Earth, Nax suddenly stands up so quickly she knocks over her stool. "Wait. What!" She asks, but Nax's voice couldn't hear as the clattering of the stool echo in the hanger. "Are you saying you were able to get Ikora to let me off of R&R early?" The warlock's eyes gleam with excitement.

"Woah, hold your horses, there's a catch."

Nax's face falls. "A catch?"

"Yup, a catch, she says if you go out now, Ikora will be extending your R&R for another week."

The guardian's stomach drops at the thought of her being in the Tower longer. "She'll be adding another week?" Nax asks, her voice in disbelief.

"That's right, another week." Amanda gets up from the workbench and walks over to a toolbox. "I mean, it's another week; it won't be that bad, right?"

A few hours of freedom pales compare to her full freedom that's only a week away. "Amanda, I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I know you must have gone out of your way to getting this person. But I am so close to me let out into the field again I don't think,"

The mechanic waves her hand to tell Nax not to worry about it. "Don't worry about it, but I don't have anything for you today, though. So, you'll need to this of a different excuse instead of using me to get out of stuff."

Nax watches her friend get what she needs and begins to come back and work on the small machine on the bench, "I'm sorry I shouldn't."

"Look, I know it's hard to trust people for you, I get that, but aren't you lonely here?"

"I am but, I don't want him to feel like he needs to miss out on these kinds of events because I'm a coward."

Amanda looks up and frowns. "You're not a coward. But did he say that you? Did he tell you that he feels like missing out on these things hanging out with you? The man wants to hang out with you outside of going to those food shops. Do you think if you tell him you're not going, he'll still want to go?"

The awoken looks confuse and a little surprise. "Cayde didn't go. Why didn't he go?"

Amanda lets out a loud groan as she covers her eyes. "Geeze, I swear you two are so dense when it comes to you two. Look if you feel bad about lying and ditching him, then find him and tell him why lied. He'll understand."

"But"

"Nax, I swear I will throw this wrench at you if you don't do it." Amanda threatens, holding up the wrench in her hand.

Nax quickly picks up the stool she knocks over and heads out of the hanger keeping an eye on her blonde friend, making sure she doesn't throw the wrench at her. 'Cayde wasn't joking when he said she would throw that at him.'

Amanda sighs and goes back to work. "I swear those two are driving me nuts."

###########

Nax stops as she enters the courtyard realizing Cayde will not be in the Hall of Heros on his day off. "Where would he go on his day off? Would he be home, or would he be out?" She begins to chew at the tip of her thumb as she tries to think where he could be. "Ah, Beeze?" She calls out for her ghost as she turns around and heads out of the courtyard.

The teal ghost appears beside her. "Yes, Nax?"

"Can you locate Ace?" She asks, giving him a side glance.

"Ace? Cayde's ghost?" He asks, twirling in surprise.

"Yes, Cayde's ghost. If you find them, will you be able to tell where they are?"

"Yes, I can do that, but why do you need to find them?" He asks.

"I want to know where Cayde is." She tells him as she heads over to the market district, hoping to run into there. Unaware that two figures are following behind her.

"Why do you want to know where he is?" He asks again; Beeze has a feeling he knows why, but he wants to tease her.

"Beeze, please, I just." She sighs. "I just need to find him." Nax pleads with him.

"Alright, hold on I'll see where they are." It only takes a few minutes for him to find them. "Found them, they're having lunch in the Spicey Ramen."

"Great, thanks Beeze." She says as she arrives at the entranceway of the market district. But only to pause seeing the street crowded. "Why is it so crowded? Is it always this crowded around this time?" Nax hands turn into a tight fist. She was trying to hide the shaking.

But Beeze notices this. "Nax? I could just send a message to Ace and asks them to meet us somewhere less crowded." He offers her.

"N. No." She takes a deep breath, trying to calm down the fast beating of her heart. "No, I shouldn't have him go out of his way for me. Besides, the shop isn't that far from here." Swallowing hard, she takes a deep, shaky breath. "I can do this." She tells herself this wishing her voice isn't so shaky. "There is no fallen here; they are just civilians and guardians." Nax makes her way through the crowd, still aware that the two figures continue to follow her.

#######

Cayde finishes his meal and places the glimmer on the bar. "See ya later, Thomas." He calls out to the human, giving a wave as he leaves. "Well, I guess I should head home and work on that Golden Age gun." He tells Ace as they exit the ship and into the crowded streets. He pushes the thought of how Nax would handle this large crowd.

#########

A few feet ahead, Nax sees Cayde appearing from the shop, and relief wash over her. She quickens her pace trying to catch up to him as he makes his way down the street. "Cayde!" She calls out, waving her hands, trying to get his attention. But before he turns around and sees her, two pairs of hands grab and pulls her into a nearby alley. He heads spin as it hits the stone brink wall as they slam her against it, pinning her down.

"Hello, feral." Purrs a male voice from a large man wearing a fallen mask.

Nax looks up, and her eyes go wide as she stares back. "Fallen." She whispers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyes up, Guardians! I am so sorry that this took two months to finish and leaving everyone in cliff hanger hell. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Also, side note, I realize Cayde’s ghost’s name isn’t Ace but Sundance, so that it will be Sundance from this point on. Alright, that’s it for now, please enjoy!

Cayde turns around after hearing his name, but he couldn't see anyone among the sea of people trying to get his attention. Sundance floats next to him, scanning the crowd as well.

"Cayde?" The red, white, and gold ghost ask, turning to him.

The exo shakes his head and turns back around. “It’s nothing; I just thought I heard someone calling me.” He gives a light shrug. “But I guess I was wrong and hearing things.” He turns back around and begins to head home.

# # # # # # # #

Nax struggles against the mask man's hold as she keeps her eyes close, trying not to stare into the mask. "Let me go!" She orders as she tries to stop her heart, pounding hard in her chest.

“Let you go? Why we do that?” Mask one asks with a chuckle. “We just want to play.”

Mask two laughs behind him. "Yeah, we hear you had this crazy side."

“The crazy side where you attack your fellow guardians in the plaza when you arrive.” Mask one chime in

Hearing these, she opens her eyes and focuses on the human eyes; thankfully, it helps as she slows down her heartbeat. She took a moment to focus on her breathing. "So, you want what? To make a name for yourself. If you wanted to fight the 'feral' warlock, you could have approached me like normal and ask me."

Both men look at each other and let a loud breaking out into laughter. Luckily for them, they are far away enough from the crowded street.

Seeing them distracted, Nax takes this chance to try to get free. She tries to kick him in the shine and groan. But completely miss and only kick air slightly grazes his leg.

Feeling her leg grazing his leg, he turns back around; he grabs her blue hair, and with some force, he hits her head to the wall behind her. He smiles under his mask, watching as her eyes glaze over.

"Hey." Mask two speak up, sounding worried. "Should we bind her hands or something? I mean, we are warned what she can do.”

“It’s fine, look at her; I hit her hard enough that her head she can’t be focused. Besides, if we have her tied up, she can’t do as much damage when she goes crazy. Just keep a lookout and make sure no one is looking this way.” Mask one orders Mask two.

"Al... alright." Mask Two takes a step back and leans against the wall looking back and forth at each end of the alleyway.

Nax fights nausea as a black spot appears in her swimming vision. The voices of the two men sound so far away. _‘Come on, keep it together, Nax. Now is not the time to pass out, not here and not in front of them. Where is Beeze? I need him to go for help.’_ She begins to move her head, but the slight movement made her instant regret it as a wave of nausea hits her as the world spin. She closes her eyes to try to stop the spinning. _‘Okay, don’t look around just yet. Focus on breathing.’_

“Hey, Warlock!” Mask one calls out to her watching her closing her eyes and stops moving. He lightly taps on her face to get her attention. “Come on now, don’t pass out on us now; you won't be able to join in on the fun we have a plan for you.”

“Maybe you hit her too hard?” Mask two suggest.

“Maybe.” Mask one sighs. “It will be a shame if she did pass out; she will miss out on the fun.”

“What fun?” The blue awoken croak out, still trying to stop the world from spinning but recover nausea, and their voices now sound closer. “If it was a fight you were looking for a fight, we could have done it in the crucibles.”

“The crucibles? Oh, dear warlock, we don’t want to fight you in the crucibles.:

“If that’s not what you want, then what do you mean about fun? Are you two trying to attack me? Even if you did that, you wouldn't make a name for yourself; you will have a target on your back.” She tries to growl to sound threatening but even doing that made her regret it.

“Isn’t it obvious? We want to see this feral side. We want to see how she handles civilians.”

Her blue eyes go wide in shock; she has a mixture of relief that the world stops spinning but is horrified that these men want to cause harm to innocent people. "You're insane." She whispers. "Do you have any idea what will happen if I go feral?"

The mask one chuckles. “Oh, we are aware of the damage you can cause in that state.”

“Then, why? What will you two accomplish? Why are you both so willing to have innocent people to get hurt?” Nax asks, raising her voice.

Mask one lets go of her hair and gently caress her cheek. “Let us worry about that. Right now, we should get started. It looks like just wearing fallen masks doesn’t send you into that state, so tell me, what really triggers you?”

The awoken glares at him. "Fuck you, like hell I'm going to tell you. You have no idea what kind of damage that state will cause. I'm sure you know I went through four fire teams when I went into that state, and they thought it was too much to handle. Do you think you two normal humans will be able to handle me?"

"Hey, Josh? Maybe," Mask two begin to say, having second thoughts about what they are doing.

"Shut up!" Josh snaps, turning to his friend.

Seeing the opening, the warlock begins to create a scatter grenade in her left hand.

"Josh! She's making a grenade!" Mask Two yells, scrambling away from the two trying to get out of the blast zone.

“Oh no, you don’t” John turns back to Nax, grabbing her other hand and pressing them together. "Go ahead and try; you will be destroying your hand before actually hurting us. Are you sure you want to take that risk?" He grins, seeing her glare again.

The blue warlock begins to mumble something.

"What was that?" He asks, leaning in closer. "I can't hear you." He says in a singsong tone.

She waits for him to come a bit closer before she tries to headbutt him. But as he jerks his head away. Nax shoves him getting free. She runs to the end of the alleyway until Josh tackles her slamming her to the ground. She flips on her back to try to push him off. “Get off me! Beeze!”

Josh cut her off by covering her mouth. “Shit! Looks for her ghost, don’t let it escape.” Mask one orders Mask two as both men look around for the teal ghost.

Mask two notices Beeze appearing at the end of the ally before it disappears into the crowd. “Josh, it just left!” He cries out point where the small ghost has just been.

“Then go after its dipshit! We don’t need it to get help or draw a crowd.” Josh yells in frustration.

"Right, I'm on it!" Mask two says, running off into the crowd.

"Take off your damn mask, you moron!" We don't need to draw any more attention." Josh yells as he watches Mask two as he rips off the mask and slips into the crowd.

Nax bites his hand hard enough to taste blood in her mouth.

“Ah! You stupid bitch!” He recoils his hand and slaps her across her face.

Her left ear begins to ring, and she can taste more of the familiar metallic taste in her mouth, telling her she bit her lip hard. But as she looks back at the man, she has a smile on her face.

“What’s with the smile?” Josh snaps as his blue eyes narrow.

“I’m guessing you didn’t see who was in the crowd, did you?”

“See who? Is it Evie? We can handle that hunter.”

“I’m sure you can try, but it's not her. Beeze is heading to Cayde 6. I was trying to get his attention before you idiots grab me. When Beeze tells him that you grab me, he will be none too happy about it.” Nax's smile fades into a frown as Josh begins to laugh.

“Oh, that’s ever perfect; the hunter vanguard goes toe to toe with the feral warlock. Tell me, warlock, has he seen that side of yours?" Nax staying silent was the only answer he gets. "Ah, I see. Do you think he will still be your little friend once he sees it? Ah well, I guess we will find out." Shifting his position, he remains to straddle her waist, making sure to pin her left arm to her side, firming gripping her right hand. "Since the mask didn't work, maybe the pain will." He bends her thumb down far enough that both hear a loud creak of the bone breaking.

As she felt a sharp and sudden pain, Nax begins to cry out as she tries to struggle to get her hand free.

"Shh, shh." He says s calmy, covering her mouth tightly, muffling her cries. "You don't want to disturb the peace.” He chuckles.

She blinks back the tears refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing them. ‘ _Don't scream; it’s only going to get him off.’_ the warlock tells herself.

# # # # # # # #

Beeze drops down into the crowd, weaving through people's legs, trying to stay hidden from his pursuer. After a few seconds, he raises above the crowd to see where Cayde is before diving back into the sea of people.

Mask Two looks among the crowd looking for the ghost, and once he spots him, he begins to head towards its direction, only changing his course a few times when the teal ghost appears from the crowd. _’Where is this thing heading to?’_ Mask two looks up ahead to see Beeze is trying to reach to see Cayde 6 and his ghost. ‘Shit!’ He begins to push his way through the crowd trying to get to the teal ghost before it reaches the hunter.

The teal ghost dodges the human's hands as Mask Two tries to grab him. Beeze dives right back into the crowd weaving through people's legs, trying to make it to Cayde. Feeling that he’s far enough from Mask Two, he raises from the crowd to look for Cayde, and he begins to dread watching him turn around the corner. "No, no!"

Beeze sends a message to Sundance, but none of them are answering back. "Come on, why aren't you two answering?" He turns around and sees Mask Two gaining on him. The ghost turns back around, send a distress signal. "Come on! Come on! Answer!" He pleads as he avoids another swipe by Mask Two.

# # # # # # # #

“Cayde, Beeze is sending me another message again,” Sundance informs him.

Cayde slows down and lets out a defeated sigh. He has been ignoring the messages; he still feels like a jackass for not noticing her discomfort and continues to drag her into those small tight restraints. "Hearing her apologies for something that she can't help; it's going to make me feel like more of an ass.

The red, white, and gold ghost bobs up and down as it waits for a yes and no. "So, decline the fifth message? The last one has been marked as a distress single.

“Just tell them that I’m unable to answer and assures her that’s I’m not mad about her unable to come; she doesn’t need to worry.” He tells his ghost as he makes his way through the crowd.

The ghost flies in front of its hunter, making the exo stop. "Cayde! They send twenty messages in less than two minutes, and the last five are distress messages.

Cayde looks surprised. "Twenty messages in less than two minutes?"

“Yes, and the last five are marked urgent.” The red, white, and gold ghost sighs.

“Alright, alright, go ahead and play them.” The exo says, stepping out of the crowd.

“Playing the five messages. Message one.” The ghost twirls as it begins to play them.

“Cayde! Help!” Beeze’s panicked voice plays through Sundance.

Hearing the panic in Nax’s ghost, the hunter begins to scan the crowd looking for him.

“Message two,” Sundance announces.

“I’m being chased by someone wearing a fallen mask!” Beeze cries out.

“Message Three.”

“Are you two hearing these messages?”

“Message Four.”

“Look behind you!”

“Message Five.”

“Turn around for the love of the Traveler.”

Cayde optics goes wide as he turns around to scan the crowd once more. But he didn’t see the teal ghost. _‘Wait a minute; I turn the corner.’_ He pushes his way through the crowd, and just as he rounds the corner, he watches two hands snatch Beeze from the air and into the sea of people. “What the hell?”

# # # # # # # #

As Josh breaks another one of her fingers, he tightens his grip on Nax's hand, stopping her from jerking it away. "Now, now, no need to pull away; we have two more to go and not to mention your other hand.

The warlock tries to focus on her breathing. She could prevent herself from crying out in pain, but she was having difficulty breathing with him still sitting on her chest. Sweat begins to form on her forehead. She begins to try to wiggle free. _‘If I just need to get my other hand free, I can.’_

Josh breaks one of her fingers and adjusts his sitting position to make sure her right hand still pin against her side. "I don't think so, warlock."

# # # # # # # #

Seeing the ghost disappearing in the crowd, Cayde scans the sea of people for anything out of place, a hint of teal, or someone acting funny. His optics catch a brown hair olive skin man going against the flow of people pushing his way through the crowd. He makes his way towards the man.

"Hold still, you little," Mask Two begin to threaten the small ghost as a brown leather glove clamps down on his shoulder. Looking to see who it is, the color drains from his face as he looks into the face of the exo vanguard.

"Is everything okay with your ghost?" Cayde asks, looking over the man's shoulder seeing Beeze struggling. “Is that your ghost?”

Mask two let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, it's just my ghost is malfunctioning with a new shell, but when I was trying to remove it flew away. It seems like the little guy doesn't want me to take it off. Odd right?"

"Really?" Cayde didn't sound convince and rubs his chin. He knows very clearly that this guy is lying, but he wants to see how deep of a grave this man is willing to dig. "You know, it's strange this ghost looks a lot like the one that belongs to the blue warlock.

The brown hair man lets out another nervous chuckle. “Funny about that; hopefully, she doesn’t have the same issue as I do.”

The hunter gives him a gotcha smirk. “How do you know the warlock I was talking about is she?”

"Really? I mean, I only know one warlock that has a teal ghost that floats around her. I mean, that's why I wanted the teal shell for my ghost. Speaking of which I should go, I need to head back and fix my ghost." He starts to leave, but Cayde tightens his grip.

“You know what I think? I think you’re trying to steal this ghost for some reason. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you are a guardian. Now, why don’t you let go of this ghost before I make you.” The exo growls in a low tone as his optics change from blue to orange.

“Cayde!” Beeze cries out, struggling in the human's grip.

“It’s alright, Beeze. I’ll get you back to Nax.” The vanguard assures it.

“They took Nax! His friend is keeping her in an alleyway.”

Mask two eyes go wide and shove Cayde away and run into the crowd.

Taken by surprise, the hunter stumbles a few steps back and watch him escape. "Shit! Hey!" He yells, following him in the crowd.

# # # # # # # #

Nax stops struggling and remains still as she tries to focus on her breathing and not on the pain or the creature scratching at the back of her mind begging to be free. _‘No, not here.’_

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Josh looks down on the small trembling warlock. He grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him, as he tries to see if there is any hint of change. "Damn still nothing." He lets go and begins to rub his chin to think. "What else is there that could set you off?" He asks himself.

“Just, just give up Josh, if you walk away now, nothing will happen to you or your friend. We all can forget about this.” Nax says, trying to keep her feral side in check.

The masked man ignores her. "Masks don't work; pain doesn't either; what else is there?" Thinking for a moment as a thought pop in his head. A smile slowly comes across his face. "There is one thing."

The smile sends a chill down Nax’s spine; she has seen that smile too many times on Red, thinking he has a chance to sleep with her. She starts to struggle, trying desperately to get her right hand free.

Josh pins down her broken left hand and leans in closer to her. "I wonder if those fallen creatures have done those kinds of things. I did hear rumors, but you're the only survivor of them." He leans in closer, his face inches from hers. "I also heard how much of an animal you are in bed. Tell me, did they teach their mating habits?”

Nax sneers. “Go to hell.”

# # # # # # # #

Cayde tries to keep up with Mask two, but a food cart slowly passes in front of him. Once the path is clear, he looks in the crowd and realizes he lost them. "Shit!" The vanguard curses.

“Cayde! Beeze is sending me a single we can track him this way. Go down this ally on the left and make a right.”

With the help of his ghost, Cayde can catch up to the two.

Confident that he lost the exo, Mask two slows down as he approaches the alley where Josh and Nax is. He holds up the ghost glaring at him. “Listen, you stupid little thing, if you cause any more trouble, I will turn you into scrap metal, and your little guardian won't be able to have her ghost to revive her.”

Beeze looks at him, then over the man’s shoulder. “I think you should turn around and look behind you.”

The brown hair man slowly turns around only to retrieve a solid punch squared in the jaw, making him fall backward knock out cold by the time he hits the ground.

Cayde stands over him heavily, breathing his optics now a blazing red.

Free from Mask two's hands, he flies up top Cayde.

“Where is she?” The exo asks the teal ghost ignoring the unconscious man at his feet.

“Stop it! Let-” Nax pleads, cut off suddenly.

Hearing her voice, he looks around and sees two figures in an alley, one pinning the other to the ground. His hand balled up in a fist as he rushes towards them.

# # # # # # # #

“Why must you fight this? Don’t you want to have some fun? I mean, I notice you haven't gone home with anyone since you’ve been on R&R. Aren't you stress? Don't you have so much pent-up anger?" Josh asks, but he already knows she can’t answer with his hand over her mouth.

“I can help you with that.” He chuckles as he moves his other hand under her shirt. "Come on, let us have some fun," He whispers, finishing his line by doing a fallen call in her ear.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Cayde yells, grabbing Josh by the shoulder and yank him off Nax. He punches Josh so hard the mask breaks, and he was able to break his nose.

Josh fell back backward, sitting on the ground and holding his bloody nose. "Cayde 6?! How?!"

The hunters crack his knuckles. “Oh, that should be the last thing you need to worry about. You should worry about how close you are in the hospital since I’m going to beat the ever-loving shit out of you.” He growls as rage has filled his voice. As he takes a step forward, he notices movements out of the corner of his optics. “Nax?”

Nax stumbles through a dark, damp dirt tunnel, trying to fight the panic threatening to take over her body. _‘I need to hurry. If they discover, I’ve gotten out against it won't take them long to find me.’_ A hand grabs her arm, making her turn around to see it face to face with a fallen captain with red eyes. "No!" She screams, shoving it away from her, and turns around to run away. But as she reaches the end of the tunnel, she can see its block by fallen. _‘No, no, no! They’re going to make me fight again. I need to get out; I need to escape.!’_ She begins to create a grenade in her undamaged hand. _‘Got to get out! Got to get out!’_

“Nax, no!" Cayde yells, seeing what she's trying to create. He rushes up behind her and grabs her pinning her arms to her side.

"NO!" The warlock cries out in terror and begins to struggle against the fallen captain. "Let me go1" Let me go!" She screams in desperation. "I don't want to fight anymore, please!" She pleads. "Don't put me away!" She tries to pull away from his hold.

Cayde grunted as she elbows him in the ribs to escape. He lifts her, stopping from pulling but causing her to start kicking.

"No! No!" The warlock begins to yell; her voice fills with terror. Her cries have brought the attention of passersby as more crowded at the ally entrance. “Don't put me in the dark!”

“Beeze! Help! I don’t think I can keep a hold of her for much longer.”

The teal ghost flies in front of his guardian, trying to get her attention. But with her head thrashing about, he's unable to get her focus on him. "Cayde, I can't get her to look at me. I need you to keep her head still."

The vanguard lets out another grunt as he narrowly misses her trying to head butt him as she tries to bring her head back. "Easier said than done, Beeze."

“You have to! She’s not here; she thinks she’s somewhere else. I can get her to calm down, but I need her to look at me.”

Adjusting his hold on her, he reaches up and grabs her chin keeping her head still. “Go, Beeze!”

“Nax! It's okay! You're safe! You're in the tower!" The teal ghost tells her, watching as her eyes begin to show recognition.

The small teal blue begins to form into a familiar ghost. “B...Beeze?”

She looks around and sees that’s she’s no longer in the cave but the alleyway.

Beeze drops a bit in relief. “Yes, Nax, it’s me. You are safe now. You are here with Cayde and me.”

"Cayde?" She looks behind her and sees Card holding her and not the fallen Captain. Her heart sank once she realizes the fallen from the alley entrance wasn't fallen at all. She looks and sees civilians, her struggling suddenly stops, and she can feel Cayde's grip loosen a little bit. "I almost lost it in the tower. I almost attack civilians." Knowing what could happen, her legs gave out, and she began to drop to the ground.

“Woah, I got you, little warlock.” The exo assures her tightening his grip on her. With her stop struggling, the hunter can look at the damage those men have done to her. He can see her left hand severely damage with all her fingers bend in different directions. A large bruise begins to form on her cheek, and hand shape bruise over her face. _‘Those fucking bastards! Why the fuck did they torture her?’_ He looks behind him to see where Josh is and sees that he’s gone. “Shit.”

“I can heal her if you just hold her for a little bit longer,” Beeze tells Cayde flying above both and bathe them in the traveler’s light.

The exo notice two things after getting heal, the ache in his hands melt away and two a small gentle shaking coming from the blue awoken. "Nax?" He looks down and watches her frame shaking. He can hear her talking but too low that he needs to lean in; he can listen to her sobbing in his arms. "Oh, Nax." He sighs, his optics turn back to blue.

“I just want to go home.” Nax pleads with them.

# # # # # # # #

Nax allows the hot water of the shower to wash away the dirt and grim of the alleyway off her blue skin, as well as the blood from her hair. She traces her hand over her stomach and follows the trail where Josh's hand went. The memory sent a cold shiver through her body and a wave of nausea. She can feel bile threatening to make its way up her throat. The warlock covers her mouth to stop herself from throwing up; she stumbles out of the shower she hunches over the toilet dry heaving. Once the heaving stop, she turns off the shower and pulls a towel off the rack. _‘I fucked up.’_ She thought to herself as she wraps the towel around her cold, wet body. _‘I almost hurt someone again.’_

“Nax?" Cayde calls out, knocking on the door. "Are you okay in there?”

She stares at the door for a moment before answering, holding the towel closer to her body. She didn't trust her voice right now. She's worried that if her voice will croak, what will Cayde do? After her break down back there, the only thing she did was sobs. She remembers seeing pity on the exo’s face. A look she was hoping not to see on his face. Not when they were just becoming friends. _‘Just go home; how long are you going to stay here?’_

# # # # # # # #

“I am sure she’s okay; she just needs some time to get herself together,” Beeze assures him.

The exo reluctantly steps away from the door and towards the living room. Cayde looks over to the teal ghost. "Are you sure about that? I've never seen her like that or like this." Gesturing towards the bathroom.

“It’s been years since she has done this. It will take her some time to recover.” The ghost explains.

"Was that her feral state?" He asks, looking around the apartment; he can see nothing had changed since he brought her home that night; she was drunk. He picks up a blanket from Nax’s blanket nest and begins to fold it, feeling like he needs to do something.

“Cayde, you don’t need to do that. I’ll get to it later.”

"I need to do something while I wait." He explains, placing the folded blanket on the couch and picks up another one.

“You don’t need to wait for her; it could take a while for her to come out.”

"No, I can wait." He places the folded one on top of the other one and continues folding. “Also, you didn’t answer my question. Was that her feral state?”

“No, I wish it was; it would be a lot easier to handle her.”

“What was that?”

“Fear state, maybe? It hasn’t happened in years, and it’s rarely happened, so we don’t know what causes it. Just something triggers it, and she gets trapped in a memory.”

"What memory was that?" The pleads and cries that she has done in the alley bubble to the surface of his memory.

The teal ghost sinks low. “I don’t know.”

The exo watches him sink. "Beeze, please, I need to know what that was back there. Nax almost attacks civilians. If Zavala and Ikora hear about this, they want to know what happens. I need to learn as much as I can so I can defend her from them.

“But I can't help you; I don’t know the memory she was in because back then, they kept us separated until they needed me to revive her.”

“They? Who’s they the fallen?”

“Yes, they,”

“Beeze!” Nax yells, making them both jump in surprise.

Both turn to see the awoken leaning against the doorframe. She changes into a set of grey sweats; her blue hair still damps from the shower that she spends almost an hour there.

“Nax.” The exo puts the last folded blanket down and begins to approach her. But seeing her tensing up, he stops.

"I'm fine." She tells him, but her tone is a bit strain and monotone. "Thank you for helping me back there. But you don't have to hang out here wasting your time off."

“Wasting my time off? Nax someone attacks you; Something happens to you in that alley." He approaches her again, but this time he moves slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements. But stops as he watches her flinch.

"I'm okay, don't you worry about what happened. It will be okay. You still have time to enjoy your day off. "She tells him as she tries to step back a bit, giving them space. But seeing him approach her again, she sidesteps and makes her way towards the kitchen.

“Nax, I don’t give a damn about my day off., I’m worried about you more than a day off. Why did they attack you? Did they tell you?”

Nax didn’t answer right away as she opens the fridge door and takes out the water pitcher. She tries to hide her tremors as she reaches for a glass. "They didn't say anything," she tells him, turning her back to him.

“So, they just grab you. They just torture you for no reason. That doesn’t make sense.”

"ENOUGH!" She yells, slamming the cabinet close and lean over the counter. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?!" Her shoulders begin to sag as the tremors start to get worse. "I... I just want," A leather hand reaches past her and takes another glass out of the cabinet. Nax turns towards him and watches him pour them each a class.

"I'm sorry." The exp tells her, staring at the white cabinet door. "I don't mean to push you." He places a glass next to her. "But seeing what they had done to you makes me," He grips the glass but realize he could break it, place it down, and takes a breath. “Okay, let’s change the subject. Are you hungry?”

The warlock blinks a few times. “What?”

“Are you hungry? Did you eat anything today?”

"Not since breakfast?" She answers, a bit confuse.

Cayde shakes his head. "That's not good." He turns around and opens the fridge and sighs, disappointed seeing the fridge empty He went in the cabinets and seen them empty. “What did you eat for breakfast air?”

"Cayde, what are you doing?" The warlock asks, watching in confusion as to the vanguard rummage through her kitchen.

The blue exo turns to her. “I’m making you dinner but seeing you have no food here, I’m wondering if you really did eat anything for breakfast. Sundance places an order at my favorite pizza place. What kind of pizza do you like?”

"Um, cheese? Wait, wait, what about your day off?'

“Nax, the only thing I wanted to do on my day off was to hang out with you.” The hunter explains.

Nax feels heat coming across her cheeks, hearing him telling her that.

"Now, there this pizza place I want you to try, so go pick a movie while I order food," Cayde says, shooing here away.

Still surprise and confuse, she walks towards her small collection of DVDs in the living room. “Beeze, what is going on?”

“Well, it looks like you’re having a movie night with Cayde.”

"But why?" She asks, looking at Cayde, talking to his ghost, and going through her cabinets.

“That’s what friends do, Nax; he wants to make sure you’re okay. I know Evie has never done anything like this, but some people have movie nights when they have a bad day.” The teal ghost explains.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asks, holding an action movie in one hand and horror in the other.

“Pick a movie, enjoy some pizza, and try to forget what happened today. Even for just a few hours.” Beeze tells her.

# # # # # # # #

Josh and his friend sit in a small room, tending to their broken noses.

"What are we going to do, Josh?" Mask Two asks, nervous.

“Well, first, Nia, we are leaving the last city; Cayde is going to be hunting us down. So, while he is busy taking care of his warlock, we should take this chance and leave.”

Nia nods in agreement. "Should we tell him about us failing the job?"

“No, he’ll figure it out,” Josh tells him as both are unaware of the door behind to open.

# # # # # # # #

After two movies, two pizzas, one cheese, and one that looks like it could burn a hole in your stomach just by looking at it, Cayde felt a little bit of weight on his right side as the credits roll on the second movie. He looks over and sees that Nax had fallen asleep and leans against him.

Beeze approaches them and begins to try to wake her up. "Sorry about that, Cayde. Let me wake her up so you can head out."

The hunter raises his hand, stopping the ghost. "No, don't." He whispers as he slowly and gently maneuvers himself and the blue warlock where she can lay her head on his lap, and he can sit comfortably. "It seems like she hasn't slept in a while, and what happened to her today? I'm sure she's going to get nightmares, so I rather let her get as much sleep as she con. Get me one of those blankets."

Beeze brings over one of the folded blankets. “Are you sure, Cayde? You don’t need to stay here all night. I can take care of her.”

Cayde chuckles. “I swear you two are peas in a pod. If I didn’t want to do it, then I wouldn’t offer to stay. So, is there anything else to watch? I need to introduce this warlock to more movies.”

“Well, I was planning to watch Ispy. Would you mind if we watch that?” The teal ghost asks.

"Mind?" He puts his feet up on the coffee table, careful not to wake her. "I love that show!"

**Author's Note:**

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